Afghanistan News & Discussion

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 03 Apr 2010 07:39

Karzai Tones Down Criticism of the West in a Call to Clinton

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/world ... arzai.html

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 03 Apr 2010 09:20

Karzai seems to be behaving erratically.

It doesn't help him to deny the vote-fraud ... there have been many independent reports about it.

In fact, the UN helped him carry out the vote fraud.

He probably did not realize that he was being entrapped, and that the UN was favoring him precisely because he was seen as a weaker and more compromised person than Abdullah Abdullah.

Rony · Post by **Rony** » 03 Apr 2010 09:23

India's eager courtship of Afghanistan comes at a steep price

Along a rugged stretch of road in the shadow of the snow-covered Hindu Kush mountains, villagers in mud-brick huts praised the newest addition to their vista: a series of massive steel towers that reach into the clouds.

The towers, part of a $1.3 billion aid package from India, carry electricity to a crippled region that has long gone without. They also represent an intense competition between India and arch-rival Pakistan for influence in whatever kind of Afghanistan emerges from the U.S.-led war.

To blunt India's eager courtship of Afghanistan, Pakistan is pouring $300 million of its own money and resources into a nation it also views as key to the stability of volatile South Asia, as well as a potentially lucrative business partner.

The economic stakes are especially enormous for India, the far richer nation, as it seeks energy to fuel its rise as a global economic power. Afghanistan is a bridge to Central Asia's vast gas and oil reserves, which are coveted by India and Pakistan, both of which have nuclear weapons but barely enough electricity.

For U.S. officials, India's increasing presence in Afghanistan is causing new security and diplomatic problems in a country where more than 1,000 American troops have died in more than eight years of war. Washington also fears upsetting the delicate balance in its relations with Islamabad.

Washington is feeling pressure from Pakistan to limit India's role in Afghanistan. Each nation fears, to a degree that outsiders often find irrational, that an Afghanistan allied with the other would be threat to its security. Pakistan considers Afghanistan, another majority-Muslim nation, a natural ally and is deeply suspicious of India's efforts there.

U.S. and NATO officials said they feared militant groups linked to Pakistan would step up attacks on Indian aid workers and other India-linked targets in Afghanistan, complicating efforts to stabilize the country.

Indian officials have publicly stated that they suspect a Pakistani role in the attacks against Indians; Pakistani officials have rejected the charges. Indian and U.S. intelligence officials have linked Pakistan to the 2008 bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, which killed more than 50 people, saying Pakistani intelligence had collaborated with militants. Indian officials also suspect Pakistani involvement in a suicide bombing at the embassy in October, which killed 17 people.

In the guesthouse attacks, Afghan intelligence officials publicly blamed Lashkar-i-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group that has been implicated in the 2008 siege in Mumbai that killed 165 people.

The guesthouse bombings shocked many Indians and intensified widespread popular anger against Pakistan. Indians and Afghans were partly enraged because Bhola Ram, the Chelebaak engineer, and several other victims were Indian nationals working on aid projects.

"Bhola Ram's project was almost done when he was killed," said Giliani Lutfi, 45, an Afghan co-worker at the new electrical plant just outside Kabul. "Please tell India, we are so sorry. Ram gave our people power, and that means life to us. It wasn't the Afghan people who stole his life."

Indian officials note that their country has educated many of Afghanistan's top leaders, including President Hamid Karzai, who has a master's degree from an Indian university.

And when the U.S.-led coalition invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to oust the Taliban, India provided intelligence and other military support, according to Rani Mullen, an upcoming fellow at New Delhi's Center for Policy Research.

The competition between the two nations can seem silly at times: When India donated a fleet of buses in the western city of Herat, Pakistan began donating buses decorated with painted Pakistani flags.

New Delhi's diplomatic offensive in Afghanistan is on display at a dusty Kabul construction site, where Indian engineers are working with Afghans to build a $90 million parliament, funded by India.

The floors and walls of the palacelike structure, a gleaming symbol of the new Afghanistan, are to be inlaid with green and rose marble from the Indian state of Rajasthan.

Such Indian-sponsored projects are sprouting from Kabul to Herat, widely considered Afghanistan's cultural heart and home to poets, painters and Sufi mystics. And they continue despite the targeted violence against Indians.

In February, Nawab Khan, an Indian musician who plays a percussion instrument known as a tabla, came to Herat to play a concert sponsored by the Indian government.

"He was sitting right here after the performance," said Tara Chand, consul general of the heavily guarded Indian consulate in Herat. "He played to a full house. All the Afghans took photographs of him with their cellphones. It was a lovely night."

Khan returned to Kabul, to fly home to New Delhi. But during the guesthouse bombings that also killed Bhola Ram, the father of six was crushed to death when the roof collapsed on him.

The guesthouse deaths outraged many Afghans, and Ram's co-workers gathered to pray for him after the attack.

Outside Kabul one recent day, at the Chimtala substation where Ram worked, young Afghans proudly inspected the power plant wearing new work boots and coats donated by India.

Sitting in a sun-streamed classroom, Sayed Arif, 25, and other young engineers were learning how to run the power plant.

"We very much want the Indians here," Arif said, looking out at the power lines that India brought to his country. "That much in Afghanistan we are sure of."

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 03 Apr 2010 09:27

JE Menon wrote:That Atimes article by MKB is outstanding. Must read.

Not a bad article.

But he places too much faith in Obama. Obama can't do anything independently of the US Deep State.

His [Karzai's] frustration is that the Americans are either far too naive to comprehend what is going on or are dissimulating since they are pursuing some "hidden agenda" in relation to the geopolitics of the region.

MKB should explore this further.

Rangudu · Post by **Rangudu** » 03 Apr 2010 10:36

CRamS wrote:India is central, core, to every issue US (and TSP) make in the region.
...
The cold war and to hatred of India, and to a certain exten disdain for Hinduism, continues to drive US policy towards India.

TSP's actions are driven by their hatred for India surely, but US actions? Not backed by evidence.

Disdain for Hinduism or Cold War memories likely have roles to play in specific policy cliques - E.g. Atlanticists, but they drive the policy? Hard to make that case.

With time and a changed view of India and TSP, our children might see this change for the better, but if we want fast change then India and Indians must take the initiative.

For instance, if our om-shanti-om-shanti leadership were to make LeT/ISI containment the top issue in Indo-US ties, then we can at least force some change or make Americans take a public stand.

When our own leaders and our own community here has people talking equal-equal (E.g. TSP is also a victim of terror

) then can we blame narrowly focused US policy makers for looking the other way?

BTW: I am curious but when did Iran commit any terror attacks against US? Lets stick to facts, not propaganda.

Look up 1983 Marine Barracks, Beirut etc. and to this day the perpetrators and their Iranian backers have gotten away largely scot free.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 03 Apr 2010 11:15

Rangudu wrote:
TSP's actions are driven by their hatred for India surely, but US actions? Not backed by evidence.

Disdain for Hinduism or Cold War memories likely have roles to play in specific policy cliques - E.g. Atlanticists, but they drive the policy? Hard to make that case.

I would need to do a treatise to make my case, but one who has already done that would be Rajiv Malhotra of infinity foundation. He systematically lays out the case.

Look up 1983 Marine Barracks, Beirut etc. and to this day the perpetrators and their Iranian backers have gotten away largely scot free.

When it comes to white lives, I agree the same standards don't apply, but in international parlance, attacks againt security personnel are not considered terrorism. But even if you do consider it as terrorism, man, if you have to go back almost 30 years to back up round the the clock drumbeat from US mouthpiece media that Iran sponsors terorism, then it is pitiful. And it is all the more laughable the free ride TSP gets, when it is the country that is infested with terrorist pigs.

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 03 Apr 2010 18:13

Are there any signs of the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul re-opening? It will be really sad if it gets shut down permanently. Surely, security can be arranged for half-dozen military doctors?

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 04 Apr 2010 05:51

Iran as a sponsor of terrorism - this is true as far as Israel is concerned, and hence via the Israeli lobby in the US, becomes true for the US as well.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 04 Apr 2010 08:09

German troops under attack, friendly fire on Afghan troops

Friday's confrontation in Kunduz was about as kinetic as it gets. Late in the day, German troops working on a bridge-building and mine-clearing project came under intense fire by as many as 200 insurgents, in a battle that provincial officials said lasted several hours. In addition to the three Germans killed, at least five were wounded, some seriously.

A German patrol hurrying to aid those under fire encountered two vehicles and opened fire Friday night, military officials said. The six men killed turned out to be Afghan troops, not insurgents. Western military officials said the German troops had used "escalation of force" procedures upon encountering the Afghan vehicles. That generally involves shouted warnings and the firing of warning shots. German officials said the vehicles were unmarked, but Afghanistan's Defense Ministry said the vehicles carried standard military markings.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 04 Apr 2010 08:27

Each nation fears, to a degree that outsiders often find irrational, that an Afghanistan allied with the other would be threat to its security

Typical == propaganda from the Washington Post

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 04 Apr 2010 14:18

After a long time, some positive news from Afghanistan:

Russia Invades Afghanistan—Again : http://www.newsweek.com/id/235886?from= ... ent=My+MSN

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 04 Apr 2010 15:41

Note to the White House: You don't own Karzai -- he owns you

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... s_show_now

Johann · Post by **Johann** » 04 Apr 2010 23:53

CRS,

Why do the Americans get India wrong so often? Because they project their problems and obsessions as natural and universal, and failing to grasp fundamental differences in the Indian perspective.

There are also a few Indians who do the same thing - who project their issues on to America, and thus suffer from fundamental misreading of American priorities and perspective.

This is natural and human - citizens of powerful states and complex civilisations can easily become terribly self-referential and self-important. It is also the recipe for failure.

America is a relatively open society - the question of who are, and who are not national enemies is always a matter of vigorous public debate, because any serious public expenditure of blood and treasure requires a basic consensus.

Indians who convince themselves that India has ever been an enemy on the lines of the Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, North Korea, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, or Libya, or that Hinduism ranks with ideological enemies like the Nazis, Communists and revolutionary Islam or global jihad are living in an imaginary world. America's priorities have always been to defeat its top enemies, and whomever is willing to assist in that is an ally, and will be treated as one. Pakistan has accrued benefits not because it is India's enemy, but because it is willing to offer assistance in fighting America's greatest threats and fears.

The Reagan administration was willing to suspend Carter's nuclear sanctions on Pakistan because that was Pakistan's price for fighting the Soviets. The sanctions came back the year after the Soviets left Afghanistan. 9-11, and the need to fight and contain Al-Qaeda led to them being lifted again. India's role in these events was and is truly peripheral unfortunately - which is terribly short-sighted on the USG's part, because India will matter. However its human nature that some might wish they were hated and feared rather than ignored.

========

As for the Islamic Republic of Iran's (IRI) use of terrorism against the US and its allies it is a long list. Wouldn't you consider the attacks on the Indian embassy and its personnel in Afghanistan to be acts of terrorism? Most of these attacks were on diplomatic facilities. The other major tactics were airline hijackings and the kidnapping of civilian hostages, mostly academics, journalists and aid-workers in Lebanon, many of whom were held chained up for years.

Whether or not you consider these legitimate tactics, the fact is that the US and the IRI have been at a state of near war on and off for 30 years. The list below does not include the *serious* naval engagements fought in the late 1980s between Iran and the US in the Persian Gulf as a result of Iranian Revolutionary Guard attacks on all oil tanker traffic.

There was some improvement after Khomeini's death in 1989, and even more significant improvements after Khatami's election in 1997. Ahmadinejad's election in 2005 has led to an increase in direct Iranian support for insurgent groups in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon. Hezb'allah for example was almost certainly the group that carried out the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Harriri in Lebanon in 2005.

The point of this list is not suggest *any* equivalence with Pakistan's campaign of terror against India. It is to illustrate how serious the US-IRI struggle is, and to encourage reflection on the limits that both the US and IRI have chosen to place on the ways in which the conflict is allowed to play out.

Despite this level of enmity, there has been no outbreak of war, no wholesale military campaign against the IRI, or its major ally Syria, its key enabler in Lebanon. Why would the US be tougher on Pakistan than it was on Iran and Syria?

4 NOV 1979: Khomeini's student militia seize US embassy in Tehran to upstage Marxist criticism of the Islamists as soft on imperialism.
20 JAN 1981: US hostages released after 444 days.
DEC 1981: Attempted coup in Bahrain planned by Hojat-al-Islam Modaressi, with a letter of authority from Khomeini. Foiled by suspicious UAE airport officials. 150 men from Dawa were to stage incidents using weapons smuggled in by the Iranians and buried on the beaches. .
JUL 1982: David Dodge, AUB President kidnapped in Beirut and secretly held in Tehran. The first of 30 Westerners (Some might have been ANO. Revolutionary Organisation of Socialist Muslims was a front organisation).
18 APR 1983: Suicide bombing of US embassy in Beirut. 63 killed.
JUN 1983: Dodge released after Syrian intervention. Dodge affair had embarrassed Iran after it became clear he was in Tehran. In subsequent kidnappings Iran provided funding and picked the victims but the Lebanese held the hostages locally.
OCT 1983: Khomeini in a short radio address urges ‘true Muslims’ to put an end to the ‘shameful’ occupation of Lebanon by Jewish and Christian infidels.
23 OCT 1983: Suicide bombings of USMC Barracks at Beirut International Airport (242 killed) & French Para HQ (58 killed) in Beirut.
12 DEC 1983: American embassy in Kuwait bombed in a series of attacks. Other targets included the French embassy, the international airport’s control tower, Kuwait’s main oil refinery and Raytheon’s residential area. 6 killed including a suicide truck bomber & 80+ injured. IJO claims responsibility. Thumb of the suicide bomber at the US embassy recovered. Iranian affiliated ‘al Dawa’ held responsible and 17 members arrested.
18 JAN 1984: Dr. Malcolm Kerr, President of American University of Beirut assassinated by 2 men with a silenced pistol
23 JAN 1984: Iran added to the US list of state sponsors of terror.
16 MAR 1984: William Buckley kidnapped and tortured in Beirut, remains dumped in 1991.
20 SEP 1984: Bombing of US embassy annex by IJO kills 24. 3 days earlier an advertisement in a Beirut paper had asked for the US Ambassador ‘dead or alive’.
3 DEC 1984: Kuwait Airways Flt 221 to Pakistan hijacked and diverted to Tehran demanding release of the ‘Kuwait 17’. 2 passengers (USAID employees) killed. Iran allows hijackers to escape.
1984: The first attacks on approximately 200 third country tankers by Iranian gunboats and mines.
16 MAY 1985: IJO releases photographs of 4 American and 2 French hostages in Lebanon, and warns of serious consequences if the Kuwait 17 were not released.
14 JUN 1985: TWA 847 Athens-Rome hijacked to Beirut. One American passenger, a USN diver shot. Demand release of Kuwait 17 and 766 detainees from the Israeli camp at Atlit. Rafsanjani flies to Damascus and helps organise release.
5 APR 1988: Kuwait Airlines Flt 422 from Bangkok seized and flown to Algeria via Mashhad. Organised by Mugniyah, demands release of the Kuwait 17. Hijacker re Mashhad "You don't have to tell the control tower; they know we're coming."
15 FEB 1989: Hojatoleslam Hassan Saneie, head of the June 5th Foundation, announces it would pay $1 million to any non-Iranian who would kill Rushdie, and 200 million rials (equivalent to $2.6 million) to the killer if he were Iranian. In response to Khomeini’s fatwa.
10 MAR 1989: IED in the family Toyota van of Capt. William Rogers III (USS Vincennes commander) in La Jolla narrowly misses killing his wife. FBI also investigates personal grudge angle. No arrests made.
16 MAY 1989: Two German relief workers kidnapped by Hezbollah in Lebanon
JUL 1989: IJO claims to have executed Col. Higgins in retaliation for Israel's abduction of a Hezbollah cleric
6 OCT 1989: Jack Mann of the United Kingdom, retired kidnapped at Sidon by Hezbollah.
8 AUG 1991: Last hostage kidnapped in Beirut, Frenchman Jerome Leyraud. Released after 3 days.
4 DEC 1991: Terry Anderson, last US hostage released
17 MAR 1992: Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires bombed killing 29
JUN 1992: Last Western hostages from Beirut (German relief workers Struebig and Kemptner) released.
18 JUL 1994: Car Bomb at Buenos Aires Jewish Centre kills 85
27 JUL 1994: 2 car bombs in London outside the Israeli embassy and the Joint Israel Appeal offices injure 19
JUL 1995: Saudi Hezb’allah begins to surveil American facilities in Saudi Arabia, including Jeddah consulate.
1995: Cleric in Qom issues fatwa to conduct attacks in Saudi Arabia
19 NOV 1995 Egyptian embassy in Islamabad destroyed by an Egyptian Islamic Jihad suicide bomber. Hezb’allah spears to have provided help with passports at least.
29 MAR 1996: Saudi police intercept a car entering from Jordan with 85lbs of plastique hidden in it. Richard Clarke speaks of an explosives filled car found by bomb sniffing dogs (a US suggestion) that is traced back to a Saudi Hizbollah camp in Lebanon's Beqaa valley run by a Saudi Shia named Mugassal, a member of the IRGC Al-Qods force. Saudis use their influence with Syria to have the camp closed.
MAY 1996: Belgian authorities intercept a shipment to Germany- largest mortar seen since WWII, designed to lob a very large IED over an embassy wall. Shipment traced back to Iran.
EARLY JUN 1996: Bahraini authorities discover IEDs and weapons. IRGC backed coup planned, 29 arrested.
25 JUN 1996: Truck bombing of Al-Khobar Towers barracks at Dhahran Air Base destroyed by parked gas tanker filled with explosives. 19 US airmen killed, 350 Saudis, Bangladeshis, Indians and Americans wounded. FBI & Saudi evidence pointed directly to Saudi Hezbollah and Iran, although publicly suppressed by Saudis who fear the consequences of reckless US retaliation against Iran.

Bhaskar · Post by **Bhaskar** » 05 Apr 2010 01:20

Pranav wrote:Are there any signs of the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul re-opening? It will be really sad if it gets shut down permanently. Surely, security can be arranged for half-dozen military doctors?

India is probably pressurized by US, Karzai and some middle eastern countries not to expand its' influence in Afghanistan as it is not an "immediate neighor" and to address Pakistan's fears.
It seems to me that Pakistan has the upper hand over India for a strategic control over Afghanistan. MMS's soft strategic approach has failed in Afghanistan.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 05 Apr 2010 06:38

Karzai Steps Up Attacks on NATO, Boxing In the West

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/05/world ... arzai.html

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 05 Apr 2010 13:15

This is why India cannot trust the US because of the lies and chicanery and war crimes committed that it tries to hush up.The US care absolutely nothing for any non-US citizen and do not wish to understand their culture,people and religion,except when they are forced too as of now as they are in s*it street in Af-Pak.There is no nation on the planet that considers the rest of the globe its "happy hunting ground" and at regular intervals indulges in "expeditionary wars".As in Vietnam ,so will the US be forced to retreat from both Iraq and Afghanistan shamefully.A large number of western generals and military experts,including US and UK ones, have already said that the war is "unwinnable".

US special forces 'tried to cover-up' botched Khataba raid in Afghanistan.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 087637.ece

EXcerpt:

US special forces soldiers dug bullets out of their victims’ bodies in the bloody aftermath of a botched night raid, then washed the wounds with alcohol before lying to their superiors about what happened, Afghan investigators have told The Times.

Two pregnant women, a teenage girl, a police officer and his brother were shot on February 12 when US and Afghan special forces stormed their home in Khataba village, outside Gardez in eastern Afghanistan. The precise composition of the force has never been made public.

The claims were made as Nato admitted responsibility for all the deaths for the first time last night. It had initially claimed that the women had been dead for several hours when the assault force discovered their bodies.

“Despite earlier reports we have determined that the women were accidentally killed as a result of the joint force firing at the men,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Todd Breasseale, a Nato spokesman. The coalition continued to deny that there had been a cover-up and said that its legal investigation, which is ongoing, had found no evidence of inappropriate conduct.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 05 Apr 2010 23:31

Discussion of weakness of Taliban marksmanship.
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/ ... ksmanship/

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 06 Apr 2010 04:20

Karzai defends Afghanistan US fraud claim

Mr Karzai told the BBC he still believed the US and others played a role in perpetrating the fraud. His tirade caused dismay in many capitals, including Washington, where the White House called it "troubling".

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 06 Apr 2010 05:36

Lawmakers: Afghan leader threatens to join Taliban
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100406/ap_ ... fghanistan

KABUL – Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened over the weekend to quit the political process and join the Taliban if he continued to come under outside pressure to reform, several members of parliament said Monday.Karzai made the unusual statement at a closed-door meeting Saturday with selected lawmakers — just days after kicking up a diplomatic controversy with remarks alleging foreigners were behind fraud in last year's disputed elections.Lawmakers dismissed the latest comment as hyperbole, but it will add to the impression the president — who relies on tens of thousands of U.S. and NATO forces to fight the insurgency and prop up his government — is growing increasingly erratic and unable to exert authority without attacking his foreign backers."He said that 'if I come under foreign pressure, I might join the Taliban'," said Farooq Marenai, who represents the eastern province of Nangarhar."He said rebelling would change to resistance," Marenai said — apparently suggesting that the militant movement would then be redefined as one of resistance against a foreign occupation rather than a rebellion against an elected government.

( Well he dont want to be thrown under the Bus as sacrifcial Lamb)

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 06 Apr 2010 08:20

What did Karzai say to Clinton?

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts ... to_clinton

"Karzai, during the course of the conversation, expressed surprise his comments had ‘caused a stir,'" State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told The Cable, adding that Karzai did not actually go as far as to apologize or retract the comments.

"He clarified what he meant. He assured us that his comments were not directed at the United States," Crowley said.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Apr 2010 14:21

X-post from TSP thread

vishal wrote:Two former ISI officers with close ties to Taliban kidnapped.

Extract: They were on way back to their homes after having a meeting with the Taliban leadership in tribal areas when they were allegedly picked up by unknown people. It is yet not clear who kidnapped them.

Col. Imam was the one decorated by Bush Sr as the 'one who dealt the first blow', obviously the first blow to the USSR and the presented with a piece of the Berlin Wall.

The Pakistani ISI, Col. Imam's own unit, has now picked him up. The US hand is obvious too. What an irony.

Kavu · Post by **Kavu** » 06 Apr 2010 14:40

Philip wrote:This is why India cannot trust the US because of the lies and chicanery and war crimes committed that it tries to hush up.The US care absolutely nothing for any non-US citizen and do not wish to understand their culture,people and religion,except when they are forced too as of now as they are in s*it street in Af-Pak.There is no nation on the planet that considers the rest of the globe its "happy hunting ground" and at regular intervals indulges in "expeditionary wars".As in Vietnam ,so will the US be forced to retreat from both Iraq and Afghanistan shamefully.A large number of western generals and military experts,including US and UK ones, have already said that the war is "unwinnable".

As if India wouldn't do the same given the chance. As if Indians care about Sri Lankans, or in future Chinese or Americans. Small dogs will never like the Big Dogs.

Varoon Shekhar · Post by **Varoon Shekhar** » 06 Apr 2010 20:02

"As if India wouldn't do the same given the chance. As if Indians care about Sri Lankans, or in future Chinese or Americans. Small dogs will never like the Big Dogs."

India has no significant historical track record of doing that. It is purely an assumption of what Indians would do, if they had the capability.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 06 Apr 2010 20:51

I think the very public upbraiding that Karzai is getting from US is related to restoring US to the good books of the 'good' Taliban. I see no benefit to US in Afghanistan by trashing him in public and working to reduce his power and prestige (corruption, election fraud, propping up oppositiion candidates etc..). However all these steps will endear them to the 'good' Taliban who might think that US is not so enamoured with Karazai.

Lets see where it will lead.

Brad Goodman · Post by **Brad Goodman** » 06 Apr 2010 21:00

chanakyaa wrote:
I am sure India will only do it if Unkil can offer us something which we desperately need like technology only then we would do it.
Now, I'm confused. What technology are you referring to, that would convince GoI to buy worthless bonds? Only citizens of India can help themselves get from where they are today to where they should be in future in terms of lifestyle, basic rights, and prosperity etc.. No need of any technology.

chanakyaa Ji the example was a hypothetical almost impossible scenario to make the point that every action that any nation takes is related to its own strategic interest. So If India helps Unkil or vice versa it needs to address its own profit / self interest to be doing it. This was pointed at those esteemed members who were getting emotional over Unkil's action in AfPak and David headley case. Since China & Unkil are so heavily interdependent on each other at the moment its a lockjam that none can break out easily. So PRC is divesting from dollar as well as US markets and Unkil is shoring up India and other asian countries to keep PRC in check but at the same time no one will cross the threshold to annoy the other overtly.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 07 Apr 2010 07:35

Former UN envoy: Karzai "off balance"

http://www.politico.com/blogs/lauraroze ... ance_.html

Former deputy head of the UN mission in Afghanistan Peter Galbraith today told MSNBC that he questions Afghan President Hamid Karzai's "mental stability."

"He’s prone to tirades," Galbraith said of the Afghan leader reelected to a second, five-year presidential term last year. "He can be very emotional, act impulsively."

"In fact, some of the palace insiders say that he has a certain fondness for some of Afghanistan’s most profitable exports," Galbraith charged, referring to opium or heroin.

...

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 07 Apr 2010 07:36

Holbrooke grounded by health problems

http://www.politico.com/blogs/lauraroze ... blems.html

Yesterday at 2 p.m., Richard Holbrooke was told that he may have some clogged heart valves — and will go in Thursday for an angiogram and further treatment in New York. He, Jack Lew, Rajiv Shah and others were to travel with Gen. David Petraeus on a major AfPak trip this week, but will have to forgo that trip.

Holbrooke assured me that this kinds of things are routine now. He shared the news with Secretary of State Clinton last night — and was in the process of contacting Gen. Petraeus during our meeting.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 07 Apr 2010 07:38

Karzai's invitation to White House may be cancelled: US

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 768961.cms

Signalling a strained relationship with Hamid Karzai, United States has indicated that Afghanistan President's White House invitation could be withdrawn if he continues with his anti-US rhetoric.

The US would continue to evaluate the statements coming from Karzai and if there is no sign of improvement, the evaluation could result in cancellation of the invitation, a senior Obama administration official said.

Rudradev · Post by **Rudradev** » 07 Apr 2010 07:51

abhishek_sharma wrote:Holbrooke grounded by health problems

http://www.politico.com/blogs/lauraroze ... blems.html

Yesterday at 2 p.m., Richard Holbrooke was told that he may have some clogged heart valves —

Time to invite him to New Delhi to meet with Cashmeery separatists, and feed him a ghee-loaded Waazwaan with tons of malai and almond sauce.

Rudradev · Post by **Rudradev** » 07 Apr 2010 07:53

abhishek_sharma wrote:Former UN envoy: Karzai "off balance"

http://www.politico.com/blogs/lauraroze ... ance_.html

Former deputy head of the UN mission in Afghanistan Peter Galbraith today told MSNBC that he questions Afghan President Hamid Karzai's "mental stability."

"He’s prone to tirades," Galbraith said of the Afghan leader reelected to a second, five-year presidential term last year. "He can be very emotional, act impulsively."

"In fact, some of the palace insiders say that he has a certain fondness for some of Afghanistan’s most profitable exports," Galbraith charged, referring to opium or heroin.

...

Just FYI

Laura Rozen is one of the most inveterately anti-India "anal"ysts around today... a real Barbara Crossette/Pamela Constable of the present generation. She is one of the first writers to insist that India should get out of Afghanistan so that it can be resolved on Pakistan's terms.

Little wonder she gives column space to Peter Galbraith's slander.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 07 Apr 2010 09:02

Absolutely stunning that US has managed to piss the good guys, India and Karzai, how ever flawed, but is in bed with TSP the real barbarian in the region. How did this come about?

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 07 Apr 2010 09:04

Rudradev wrote:
Time to invite him to New Delhi to meet with Cashmeery separatists, and feed him a ghee-loaded Waazwaan with tons of malai and almond sauce.

Man, you are baaaaaad

.

BTW: I thoughts almonds, pistachios, walnuts etc are good for you.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 07 Apr 2010 09:47

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
How to Save Afghanistan From Karzai
By Bing West

Bing West, an assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration, has reported on the Afghan war since 2001.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/opinion/07west.html

The Philippines — and South Korea as well — evolved into thriving democracies at their own pace, well after American aid helped to beat back the military threats facing them. It was enough to prevent the Communist takeovers and leave behind governments controlled in the background by a strong military. We didn’t spend tens of billions of dollars on material projects to inculcate democratic principles.

Similarly, a diminished Hamid Karzai can be left to run a sloppy government, with a powerful, American-financed Afghan military insuring that the Taliban do not take over.

Admittedly, this risks the emergence of the Pakistan model in Afghanistan — an army that has a country rather than a country that has an army. But we are not obliged to build a democratic nation under a feckless leader. We need to defend our interests, and leave the nation-building to the Afghans themselves.

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 07 Apr 2010 18:00

Kabul Dur Ast : http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?264838

Excerpts:

“There’s no question of retreating from Afghanistan,” says a senior Indian diplomat. Such brave words are perhaps for public consumption, for there are tell-tale signs of India scaling down its presence here. Nearly 50 per cent of Indian personnel working on various projects in Afghanistan have been sent home. The Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health in Kabul—the only children’s hospital in the country—is without an Indian doctor; any medical guidance from New Delhi is rendered through teleconferencing. And though four other medical missions are working now, India isn’t taking on any new projects, content to complete the two on hand—the Salma dam and construction of the Afghan Parliament—of the $1.3-billion worth of Indian projects initiated here. The SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association) scheme, hugely popular as it empowered Afghan women, has been put on hold; Indian-run vocational courses have been suspended; and the training of Afghan civilian personnel, whether in government or civil society, will only be imparted in India now.

A senior MEA official justifies the scaling down saying no new projects are being taken up “because we have not been asked to by the Afghan government”. He points out that many of the 3,500 Indians in Afghanistan now are there of their own accord—and are not working on Indian government projects. “If some of them now want to return to India, how can we stop them,” he asks.

Considering the popularity of these projects, it’s debatable whether India would have desisted from proposing new projects to the Afghan government. New schemes would have augmented further the formidable soft power India already enjoys here—Bollywood remains extremely popular, and now even TV serials command an enviable following (TV star Smriti Irani is fast becoming a household name). India remains the favourite destination of Afghans—the Indian embassy and four other missions here issue 350 visas daily, a fact borne out by the packed thrice daily flights between Kabul and New Delhi.

So is it that President Hamid Karzai’s government doesn’t want Indians here?

Karzai has been an ally of New Delhi, well disposed to India because of, among other things, having studied here. He has also had testy relations with Pakistan, distrustful of its machinations and proximity to the Taliban. Most Afghan observers say things began to change when Karzai began to reach out to Pakistan last year. Partly, he did this out of desperation—the US and other western powers began to gun for him months before the November election, believing he didn’t serve their interests. In addition, Obama unveiled his new Afghan policy, opting for a surge in Afghanistan and promising a scaling down of American troops by mid-2011. This fanned the already existing speculation that the Obama administration wasn’t really averse to the return of a ‘reformed’ Taliban.

There are many here who blame India for its plight. They say India was not assertive about its presence here, thus failing to win the confidence of those who, hemmed in between Iran and Pakistan, considered it a natural ally. Says Moridian Dawood, advisor to the Afghan foreign minister, “India seems apologetic about its presence. It’s a regional player and must behave like one, instead of insisting on a benign presence with a penchant for staying in the background.”

Many in the Afghan establishment echo Dawood’s view, pointing out that even Karzai had told Indian officials that since New Delhi didn’t have the stomach to back him in the face of US opposition, he had no choice but to throw his lot with Pakistan. Not only Karzai, many liberal Pashtuns complain that India didn’t openly back them, preferring to cultivate its old friends in the erstwhile Northern Alliance. No doubt, India tried to correct this perception, locating many projects in the Pashtun-dominated provinces rather than at places where ethic minority groups are in a majority. But this has not quite earned it enough dividends.

Should Karzai and the Taliban strike a deal, Afghanistan could again slip into chaos, imperilling India’s $1.3 billion investment and the energy it expended to acquire a salience here. No wonder, Indian officials are burning the midnight oil, trying to refashion its Afghan policy. Should it put its weight behind the groups which constituted the Northern Alliance, a formation that’s bound to oppose a return of the Taliban? Or should it play both ends, refrain from shutting the door on the Pashtuns? Says Dawood, “I don’t believe this is the end-game. But India, which enjoys so much popular support among Afghans, must have the stamina and patience to stay the course. It can’t afford to run away.”

Varoon Shekhar · Post by **Varoon Shekhar** » 07 Apr 2010 18:15

"Laura Rozen is one of the most inveterately anti-India "anal"ysts around today... a real Barbara Crossette/Pamela Constable of the present generation. She is one of the first writers to insist that India should get out of Afghanistan so that it can be resolved on Pakistan's terms."

I'm probably stating the obvious here, but what is the real source of this opposition by US commentators and some policy analysts, to Indian involvement and presence in Afghanistan? It's hard to buy the 'instinctive dislike of India' theory i.e disliking India just because it is India! Though a few idiots are capable of that.

A regime in Afghanistan that India supports will be more democratic, pluralistic, secular, independent minded, and will facilitate India, or surely not oppose India in its efforts to do major business with the Central Asian republics. The US does not like the idea of India being a major player in that resource rich zone. For that matter, a democratic and pluralistic Afghanistan would potentially be a 'player' by itself( though not immediately), rather than just a conduit for the US or any other country. This is not agreeable to sections of the US establishment.

It's possible that some of these analysts are thinking that an India with very benign and positive influences on Afghanistan would be a springboard for more such influences in West Asia, including Iran and the Arab states. With those good influences would come even more Indian economic influences and hence more competition for resources and markets, again undesirable for sections of the US.

JMT!

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 07 Apr 2010 19:24

India does not have the stomach - it is the political side that does not have it.

It is one thing to support another country's efforts, but totally different to out-source one's own policies. The "tilt" towards the US has backfired in Af-Pak.

It will need a stronger stomach to reverse it now. The damage has been done. Specially if I am to believe the Outlook report.

surinder · Post by **surinder** » 07 Apr 2010 20:06

Pranav wrote:Kabul Dur Ast : http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?264838

Excerpts:
Many in the Afghan establishment echo Dawood’s view, pointing out that even Karzai had told Indian officials that since New Delhi didn’t have the stomach to back him in the face of US opposition, he had no choice but to throw his lot with Pakistan.

No one wants to align with the weak, even if they want to. Stength is worshipped, weakness is despised. That is what Vivekananda told us centuries ago.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 07 Apr 2010 20:17

Exactly. The weak are despised with contempt. India, by becoming a side-kick to US is taken for granted, while Karzai watching TSP's brazen aggression and nobody detering it including India is probably disgusted with India.

surinder · Post by **surinder** » 07 Apr 2010 20:21

Karzai has studied in Simla & Chandigarh. He speaks Hindi (what pakis might call Urdu) fluently. He was/is a genuine friend & admire of India. But who wants to partner with dhoti-wetting weaklings. I am sorry, but no one likes weak people, and rightly so.

Karzaai, has shown more courage than Indians. Consider his situation, and consider India's position. He snubs the AmirKhan and talks frankly & bluntly about TSP more than an Indian PM/President has courage to. You gotta admire his b@11s.

munna · Post by **munna** » 07 Apr 2010 20:29

surinder wrote:Karzai has studied in Simla & Chandigarh. He speaks Hindi (what pakis might call Urdu) fluently. He was/is a genuine friend & admire of India. But who wants to partner with dhoti-wetting weaklings. I am sorry, but no one likes weak people, and rightly so.

I don't quite like the words for their negative connotation towards traditional Indian dresses but I agree with spirit of your post. We have made a joke of ourselves in security policy 360'. Perhaps a result of the take over of foreign policy by economists and bureaucrats.

Karzaai, has shown more courage than Indians. Consider his situation, and consider India's position. He snubs the AmirKhan and talks frankly & bluntly about TSP more than an Indian PM/President has courage to. You gotta admire his b@11s.

Although he will pay for taking a "panga" with mighty khan atleast he is being a man enough to take it on the chin.