What is Karzai doing?
It appears Karzai has decided that his interests are best served by going directly after the government of Pakistan.
In the last 24 hours, the Afghan state-run paper said that "Pakistan's government is equipping and sending militants into Afghanistan."
This was followed by Karzai himself saying that the Pakistan government is trying to retake his country to turn his countrymen into "slaves." He also reiterated the charge that it is the Pakistani government is directly behind the Taleban.
All of this may well be true, but I don't see the "play" here by Karzai. Is he trying to rally Afghanis against the Taleban? Is that effort worth shredding whatever remained of the key Pakistan relationship?
This is a pretty big bridge to burn, I hope he's right in his evaluation.
In the last 24 hours, the Afghan state-run paper said that "Pakistan's government is equipping and sending militants into Afghanistan."
This was followed by Karzai himself saying that the Pakistan government is trying to retake his country to turn his countrymen into "slaves." He also reiterated the charge that it is the Pakistani government is directly behind the Taleban.
All of this may well be true, but I don't see the "play" here by Karzai. Is he trying to rally Afghanis against the Taleban? Is that effort worth shredding whatever remained of the key Pakistan relationship?
This is a pretty big bridge to burn, I hope he's right in his evaluation.
posted by mikevotes at
9:48 AM
4 Comments:
That is a pretty big move. I wonder if GWB sanctioned that?
I can't see what he has to gain other than domestic support. Aha! Shoring up domestic support. Maybe he backed it op with a phonecall to Musharraf.
I hope this play works out for him, but it smacks of desperation.
By
Praguetwin, at 10:36 AM
Taleban is supported by the Pashtun ethnic group and Pakistanis, predominating in the south. Karzai is a Pashtun by blood, but not by custom. It seems to me that Karzai may want to ignite some anti Pashtun sentiments in the North. The north is dominated by Tajiks and Uzbeks and those groups combined to form the Northern Alliance. This sort of reads like a redrawing of the status quo ante bellum struggle within Afghanistan.
By
Bravo 2-1, at 12:12 PM
Praguetwin, that's what I smelled. Painting himself and country as victim doesn't smack of a strong president, and I find it interesting that he's trying to create the eneny "other" in the Pakistanis rather than the Taleban. Of course, dislike/distrust of Pakistan is probably pretty deep in Afghanistan after the Taleban's years in power.
Copy, Interesting, let me chew on that awhile. Maybe to create a cross border barrier in the North?
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 12:24 PM
Pakistan has thrown its diplomatic lot in with the Pashtuns, their old proxies in the area -- and a notable ethnic group in the northern parts of their own country. The potential impact on Karzai's presidency and his life are extreme. Karzai and Musharraf are increasingly less fond of each other.
By
Bravo 2-1, at 9:46 AM
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