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Today's Top News
Afghan Poll Body Backs Karzai on Electoral Row
KABUL - Afghanistan's election commission said on Tuesday it backed a decree by President Hamid Karzai that limits foreigners' role in elections, scoring him another point in a dispute that has put him at odds with Washington.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks at Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) in Kabul April 1, 2010. (REUTERS/Ahmad Masood) The procedure of how to run the
parliamentary election, set for September, has emerged as a major bone
of contention in Afghanistan, prompting an anti-Western tirade by
Karzai last week that drew a sharp rebuke from the United States.
Holding a free and fair parliamentary election is seen as a crucial test for Afghanistan which is facing a resurgent Taliban, despite the presence of tens of thousands of Western troops, more than eight years since the militants' removal from power.
Karzai gave a speech on Thursday accusing the West of perpetrating election fraud in Afghanistan, and he appeared to go one step further on Monday by singling out the United States as specifically to blame, drawing anger from the White House.
U.S. officials worry that Karzai's anti-Western rhetoric could erode public support for the war back home.
Karzai is wrangling with parliament and the United Nations over how the election should be run and wants to limit the influence of foreigners on a fraud watchdog that overturned his first-round victory in a presidential election last year.
In February, Karzai issued a decree stripping the United Nations of the authority to appoint the majority of members of the watchdog, allowing him to choose the panel himself. He then partly backed down, saying the world body could name two members of a panel of five.
Parliament's lower house unanimously rejected Karzai's decree in a vote last week, but the upper house refused to vote on it, apparently ensuring the decree still stood.
On Tuesday, Afghanistan's government-appointed Independent Election Commission (IEC), which oversees the running of elections, said it now believed Karzai's decree had the force of law and would act on it.
"We will carry out our work and programmes on the basis of the new law that the Justice Ministry has sent to us," IEC chief electoral officer Daoud Ali Najafi said.
Najafi said he believed the March compromise, under which Karzai would name two foreigners suggested by the United Nations to the five-member watchdog panel, still stood.
"It is the authority of the president to name two foreigners and three Afghans," he said. "We have asked the president to present the five people to us as soon as possible."
The fraud watchdog became the centre of attention during last year's disputed presidential election, when its foreign members overturned Karzai's victory in the first round, throwing out a third of his votes.
Karzai was declared the victor anyway in November when his opponent backed out of a second-round run-off, but the three-month stand-off battered his reputation in the West.
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
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14 Comments so far
Show AllIt's a well worn and tired fact that every time a despot achieves power that they do any and everything in their power to remain that way until death (ala Putin et al), or they are forced to cut and run taking millions with them in currency (that they already haven't stolen and salted away somewhere else during their reign).
We all known Karzai is a US puppet leader and because of that backing he's willing to try on anything as long as he keeps up the pathetic appearance that he's a 'leader'.
Depending on how much crap this guy flings about and until he throws a spanner into the works of Pipeghanistan, expect more draconian garbage from Karzai incorporated.
When he gets too out of control for even his masters to tolerate, then expect Karzai to be ousted out either peacefully or in some grand assassination that lends itself to give more purpose to what's at hand such as blaming the all-powerful Taliban for it but---who would in actuality probably be local warlords paid off by the USA as a hit.
Saddam was our thug for a long time but as soon as he became their thug he got into big trouble with our fascists and his days were numbered and now it appears the U.S. quisling Karzai may be going down that same road.
One of them days, a car bomb's gonna explode under Karzai's window taking his entire house and him down, courtesy of the CIA, who will of course blame the Taliban and Al Qaeda for the deed.
You heard it here first folks. Watch for the MSM demonization of Karzai. He will be accused of being an addict or a big time Heroin dealer ( which is the truth, but before he was the good guy trying to clean it up even though his family is in it up to his ears). One sure sign that he is no longer an U.S. puppet is when he is demonized by the fawning, parasites called the MSM!
Paul ... you are absolutely correct. Karzai has clearly fallen out of favor with the U.S. establishment since he has 'gone rouge'. He is the only chance Afghans have for a fairly distributed and representative power structure. He comes from a well respected Pashtun family and hence has tremendous influence amongst them. At the same time he has made strong overtures to the erstwhile Northern Alliance warlords. His recent push to accommodate the Taliban (however distasteful) is the only chance Afghanistan has towards peace.
All these moves run counter to the U.S. and Pakistani interests in the region and hence the demonization by the extremely compromised MSM. Afghans are deeply suspicious of Americans and Pakistanis. Pakistan is hated as much as America, since Pakistan has been trying to use Afghanistan like we have been using Pakistan - a proxy State for our own interests.
Since Karzai has made overtures to the Taliban independent of Pakistan, he is in their crosshairs. Its only a question of time before Pakistans ISI 'pops' him. Mullah Omar and the Taliban are ISI's only leverage, to be used as a bargaining chip to curry favors (arms) from the U.S. The biggest problem and stumbling block to peace in Afghanistan is Pakistan and ofcourse our hare-brained AfPak strategy.
The loya jirga of 2002 that named Karzai as president -- (Pashto: لويه جرګه), the traditional "grand assembly," a phrase in the Pashto language meaning "grand council" -- was seen by US officials as a reasonably legitimate substitute for elections to cover moving into Occupation Mode in Afghanistan.
Regional powerbrokers at the assembly just happened to "agree" that the US's guy in Kabul should lead their nation.
That helped make it seem like a "democratic" decision was being made, thus justifying the continued war/occupation. Rarely was it mentioned that Karzai's had worked for Conoco Oil. Imagine in corporate USA not mentioning such a resume item when seekjing a job...
A recent interview with Karzai had him explaining that Afghans wouldn't put up with their leaders being seen as puppets manipulated by outside forces. Isn't THAT novel?! After years of string-pulling, he becomes Pinocchio. But shouldn't that be seen as progress?
The Washington Post apparently saw that attitude as a sign of "further betrayal" to the West. Yeah!...Sure is. Don't those ungrateful Afghanis know we PAY in money & blood to have those puppets in place?
Question IS, why do WE put up with puppets--right here??? Congress, the president, are all puppets doing what the paymasters design. The rest is spin.
When will it dawn on the U.S./NATO Masters of the Universe that Afghanistan can hardly be thought of as a country. It's more like a patched up quilt of separatist tribal factions. The fact is the U.S. and NATO allies have decided to turn Afghanistan into a huge military theater in the pretty obvious pursuit of securing land rights for the construction of the dreamed gas pipelines to supply their insatiable appetites for fossil-fuels. All under the cover of fighting the Taliban. Desperately trying to prop up a puppet government under the guise of democracy they actually believe they can pull its strings on command. But the corrupt fashionista Karzai is beginning to seriously disappoint. His latest act of accusing the west for Afghanistan's recent fraudulent elections is mere smoke in trying to cover up his fingerprints for stealing an election with western consent and also to try and repackage his brand as a strong independently-minded leader that can stand up to the West. Now let's see: stolen elections, corrupt governments, egocentric politicians. Where have we seen this before?
--"mere smoke in trying to cover up his fingerprints for stealing an election with western consent "
Despite the nasty truth about Karzai (like our own politicians he is another corporate stooge .. surprise !), there was no 'western consent' in his election win. In fact the U.S. supported his opponent and were shocked at Karzai's win. Whatever the facts on the ground one thing is sure, Karzai is the only legitimate Leader who can bring all Afghan factions to the table and bring the violence to an end. We can save the moralizing for self-righteous Liberals and support Karzai and somehow hope he can pull the rabbit of 'Afghan Nationalism' out of his hat.
"Reports say at least 25 Afghan civilians have been killed in a NATO airstrike on a compound in Nahr-e-Saraj, a district in Helmand province."
Will the massacres of innocents continue until the attitude improves and Obama can have his way with Karzai?
The way things are going south for Obomber in Pipe-O-Stan he will be the LBJ of our century. Obama and the D-Crapper party are carrying water pails for PNAC just as eagerly as the ChimpCo Administration did before.
With bombings heating up in Iraq by pissed off Sunnis who are
being marginalized by Maliki and events that are not to Obomber's liking in Pipe-O-Stan, it is our wallets that will be shaken for more money to prop up more 'Pipe-O-Stan' military surges as well as in Iraq-O-Stan.
All the while, Osama Bin Laden is laughing his keester off seeing our nation stumbling around like an Expensive Wino.