Ahmed Wali Karzai - Resume includes President's Brother (Jimmy Carter had one of those), CIA agent (Not to be confused with DEA agent.) and Opium Trade Merchant. Interesting. More than interesting.
My first reaction is, "Did Moscow know?" I can't believe Prime Minister Putin didn't know about this one. My second reaction is, "Did Hillary Clinton find out in time to react in Pakistan?" I don't think she got 'the word' yet.
You know, if Moscow knew about this guy,...,why then would they keep it a secret?
Then again? I do believe Prime Minister Putin probably let George W. Bush in on it when they went fishing. You know, as a courtsey to say, "Karzai's brother is killing your soldiers. Indirectly. He is assisting with the funding for al Qaeda. But, then you might already know that, huh?"
I mean after all, Moscow left Afghanistan when Iraq was invaded. Oddly interesting. When did Bush/Cheney know?
All 'interesting questions aside,' this is more than serious and I don't know if I really consent to the CIA funding an Opium Merchant. I mean what was his role in this, to find the best and safest trade routes that the Press couldn't figure out?
It was no surprise that Afghanistan was loaded with opium. The United Nations knows that and maybe the CIA should have read their report. The man needs to be arrested, at least for his own protection, unless of course the Taliban is counting on Karzai actually winning the election and his brother continuing in his capacity as 'back stabber' to Americans and NATO, along with other 'Coalition Partners.'
This is a game changer and probably the most profoundly involved in this is General McCrystal. I sincerely feel bad for him at this point. He has a lot at risk with soldiers in the field and a nation counting on an honest assessment of the battlefield and his potential to win the war and secure the region. He has made his assessment based upon a country that actually would cooperate with initiatives to secure Afghanistan AWAY from oppression and violence.
I believe the Karzai government has a lot to answer for if indeed they knew up front this was all transpiring. I also believe for 'the good' of Afghanistan he should consider stepping down as a candidate for the November election.
The really horrible reality is that he might not have had any choice in allowing all this mess to exist considering 'war,' whether it be in Iraq or Afghanistan was a political issue and not a national security issue for Bush's America. After all, Iraq's invasion had no purpose, except, to get Cheney out of indebtedness to Halliburton.
But this is a reality the USA cannot consent to on any front. One reassurance that General McCrystal has at this moment is that he is given a fresh start. I hope he can realize why the President, as Commander and Chief, has had his reservations about increasing troop numbers. There is nothing like the government infrastructure of the country one is trying to stabilize actually sabotaging that effort.
The 'reality' of the dynamics of Afghanistan and Pakistan are coming remarkably clear. It is no different than Rumsfeld not having an exit strategy for the USA in Iraq, not having a 'security strategy' post invasion and turning the military loose to run Iraq prisons without sincere guidance while they struggled to reach interrogation standards in Iraq that reflected those that were occurring in Gitmo.
THE NEGLIGENCE of the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld Cabal of the National Security of the USA by turning their backs on the profound problems that beset Afghanistan to run an oil war in Iraq is incredible. They had no intention of securing the region, yet alone Afghanistan. It was all too easy to leave the 'real war' following September 11, 2001 and allow complete anarchy while 'intelligence' was made available as to the 'real activity' within the Karzai government and its economy. It was all to easy for Rumsfeld to state, 'I don't think we will ever get control of the opium issue in Afghanistan.'
Well.
I guess not.
The 'status' of the Afghanistan initiative has ONE reality and that is Pakistan is doing a remarkable job in cleaning up its countryside. It is doing it with the support of the people. Can we secure Pakistan without security Afghanistan? The UN report was fairly clear that Afghanistan cannot be allowed to continue to have an illicit economy of opium trade. I do believe the Global Community would state the same and seek to modify their interactions with Afghanistan to bring a reasonable economy there.
The one fact cannot be abandoned and while al Qaeda has 'morphed' to other regions of the world the idea that 'this region' of the world can be abandoned and forgotten in hopes nothing will ever come of it again is somewhat naive. However, to believe the USA and NATO is capable of entering into a long and protracted war with the Taliban or otherwise, is to realize how exploitive this war has been of that TRUST relationship that is based in 'hopes' of achieving a stable state for the Afghan, Pakistan and Global Nations. I don't see NATO being committed WITHOUT strong modification in the devotion of the Afghan government to PROFOUND change.
It is becoming remarkably clear why Europe and Asia are finding solice in the election of President Obama. The Global Community might actually have a partner is achieving peace and stability.
...The information (click title to entry - thank you), published in the New York Times, first stated that the president's brother was, in effect, the southern sector's political boss, running the election, communicating with the Taliban for the U.S. government, informing the U.S. government of possible attacks, and overseeing several bridges vital to opium traffickers.
The U.N.'s report on the drug trade in Afghanistan, "Afghan Opium Survey 2009," released in Kabul by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) last month, said the drug lords and the government in Afghanistan had a "marriage of convenience," that the traffickers had built a stand-alone empire similar to South America's Colombian cartels, and that both the Taliban and the Afghan government extracted tariffs on their trade....
That report didn't happen and the information gathering didn't take place since February 2009. The organization of this crime network was happening in Afghanistan while NATO and the USA were losing troops and it was covered up. Plain. And. Simple. Karzai should have been networking with authorities elsewhere to rid the country of this level of corruption. There is no excuse for this. None. I find it hard to believe President Karzai, with NATO within reach could not find his way out of this. I guess it is too difficult to arrest a Brother when that Brother 'appears' to be doing good deeds for the USA.
At this point, Secretary Clinton has her work cut out for her while she is promoting good will and rebuilding Pakistan's economy with initiatives in energy infrastructure that would bring relief to the Pakistan people in a profound way. It may be difficult at this late date for the people (the electorate) of Afghanistan to react in time for the elections on November 7th. I hope President Karzai takes all that into consideration and acts in the best way possible for an extraordinarily good outcome for the people of Afghanistan. If indeed he was a besieged President and felt no recourse to his plight then he needs to act now to relieve the people of their burden to decide. Unless. He intends to maintain Afghanistan as a rouge state.
