It pays to let Taliban and Al Qaeda flourish. Or else Hamid Karzai would not have fallen from grace with the Americans!Comment by Kanchan Gupta / May 6, 2009.
In a story headlined "OBAMA'S WAR: A New Approach to Karzai -- Administration Is Keeping Ally at Arm's Length; Skepticism of Afghan Leader Shapes Policy", filed by Rajeev Chandrasekaran, Tuesday's Washington Post makes a couple of interesting points:
Today, as the two leaders meet in the White House, that skepticism drives the administration's evolving policy toward Afghanistan and the battle against Taliban insurgents, a conflict whose outcome will in part define Obama's presidency.
In assessing the nearly eight-year struggle from Washington, senior members of Obama's national security team say Karzai has not done enough to address the grave challenges facing his nation. They deem him to be a mercurial and vacillating chieftain who has tolerated corruption and failed to project his authority beyond the gates of Kabul.
"On all fronts," said a senior U.S. official, "Hamid Karzai has plateaued as a leader."
These need to be taken note of along with the great faith that US President Barack Hussein Obama has placed in Pakistan's dissolute President Azif Ali Zardari and rewarded him for allowing Pakistan to descend into chaos and the Taliban to occupy vast tracts of land where they have let loose a reign of terror in the name of enforcing shari'ah. Zardari's prize: $ 7.5 billion in American aid. The money could also be candyfloss to keep Zardari happy as the Americans plot with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif whose PML (N) could join the Pakistani Federal Government with him as the Prime Minister.
It is interesting to note that while Obama is 'reaching out' to Pakistan and appeasing those who are responsible for the rapid march of the Taliban, he has been slyly introducing measures that can only be described as anti-India.
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