The rejection of Hamid Karzai’s second cabinet second time in a row by parliament is the ultimate snub to the Afghan president.
That this comes within two weeks after parliament rejected his first cabinet nominees speaks volumes of the serious crisis of confidence facing Karzai. Out of the 17 candidates Karzai picked up as his ministers, only seven have managed to get parliament’s nod. While many of Karzai’s picks are said to have been rejected, as in the past, because of their far from clean antecedents and their ties to various warlords, this is a telling comment on President Karzai himself.
He is just beginning to settle down after the storm over his controversial reelection. He might have won the final round of the bitter post-poll battle after his rival and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah withdrew himself accusing him of stealing the vote. However, the Afghan leader stands thoroughly discredited in the eyes of both his people and the international community. While no one ever entertained lofty hopes and expectations about the experiment called Afghan democracy right from the word get-go, the Afghan government has totally squandered the trust of ordinary Afghans over the past few years.
Security situation remains as fragile as ever, with the government writ remaining largely confined to capital Kabul. Corruption is rampant with numerous warlords — some of them part of the government — and druglords ruling the roost. No wonder the Taleban now control large swathes of Afghanistan and the insurgency continues to expand.
And the men picked up by the United States and its Western allies to lead Afghan people have become a liability and albatross around the coalition’s collective neck despite pouring in billions of dollars in aid and reconstruction. This is a disturbing state of affairs for Washington and its allies as they get ready for an international conference on Afghanistan’s future in London. There are few options on the table. Having dislodged the Taleban regime, the coalition is now stuck with the mess in Afghanistan. It cannot cut and run, even if it wants to.
Perhaps it’s time for the West and the world community to explore a new approach to take on the challenges presented by Afghanistan. The US-led coalition cannot stay in Afghanistan forever. President Barack Obama, even as he recently committed 30,000 additional troops, vowed to get out of Afghanistan by next year.
If the US is indeed keen to leave next year, it may have to look beyond President Karzai. It has to reach out to the Pasthun majority, who have been totally left out in the cold in the current scheme of things. Even though Karzai himself is a Pashtu, his community finds little representation in the administration and has no say in the decision making process. Also, outrageous as it might sound, the US and allies may have to ultimately engage the Taleban at some level. All Taleban are not terrorists and continue to enjoy greater popular support than the coalition cares to admit. Karzai has himself invited “Taleban brothers” for talks and even approached the Saudis and the UAE for help in this connection. But unless the offer comes from the US, it’s likely to find few takers.
(Courtesy Khaleej Times)
That this comes within two weeks after parliament rejected his first cabinet nominees speaks volumes of the serious crisis of confidence facing Karzai. Out of the 17 candidates Karzai picked up as his ministers, only seven have managed to get parliament’s nod. While many of Karzai’s picks are said to have been rejected, as in the past, because of their far from clean antecedents and their ties to various warlords, this is a telling comment on President Karzai himself.
He is just beginning to settle down after the storm over his controversial reelection. He might have won the final round of the bitter post-poll battle after his rival and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah withdrew himself accusing him of stealing the vote. However, the Afghan leader stands thoroughly discredited in the eyes of both his people and the international community. While no one ever entertained lofty hopes and expectations about the experiment called Afghan democracy right from the word get-go, the Afghan government has totally squandered the trust of ordinary Afghans over the past few years.
Security situation remains as fragile as ever, with the government writ remaining largely confined to capital Kabul. Corruption is rampant with numerous warlords — some of them part of the government — and druglords ruling the roost. No wonder the Taleban now control large swathes of Afghanistan and the insurgency continues to expand.
And the men picked up by the United States and its Western allies to lead Afghan people have become a liability and albatross around the coalition’s collective neck despite pouring in billions of dollars in aid and reconstruction. This is a disturbing state of affairs for Washington and its allies as they get ready for an international conference on Afghanistan’s future in London. There are few options on the table. Having dislodged the Taleban regime, the coalition is now stuck with the mess in Afghanistan. It cannot cut and run, even if it wants to.
Perhaps it’s time for the West and the world community to explore a new approach to take on the challenges presented by Afghanistan. The US-led coalition cannot stay in Afghanistan forever. President Barack Obama, even as he recently committed 30,000 additional troops, vowed to get out of Afghanistan by next year.
If the US is indeed keen to leave next year, it may have to look beyond President Karzai. It has to reach out to the Pasthun majority, who have been totally left out in the cold in the current scheme of things. Even though Karzai himself is a Pashtu, his community finds little representation in the administration and has no say in the decision making process. Also, outrageous as it might sound, the US and allies may have to ultimately engage the Taleban at some level. All Taleban are not terrorists and continue to enjoy greater popular support than the coalition cares to admit. Karzai has himself invited “Taleban brothers” for talks and even approached the Saudis and the UAE for help in this connection. But unless the offer comes from the US, it’s likely to find few takers.
(Courtesy Khaleej Times)
