By Carl
I'm not sure Hamid Karzai appreciates precisely what he said:
The death of Ahmed Wali Karzai was confirmed by Hamid Karzai, his half brother, who said the killing reflected the suffering of all Afghan people."Inside the houses of Afghan people, we have all suffered from the same kind (of pain). And our hope is that, God willing, there will be an end to the pain and suffer of Afghan people, and peace and security will be implemented," said Karzai at a joint news conference with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Karzai, a puppet of the Conoco Phillips corporation and former CIA operative, won a mandate from the Afghani people under less-than-auspicious circumstances after being appointed President following the NATO invasion and ouster of the Taliban. His re-election in 2009 was similarly clouded. His relations with both the United States and neighboring Pakistan have been dicey at best, playing one off the other clumsily. And he believes Iran is a friend to Afghanistan.
Under the auspices of his brother, assassinated today, the opium trade in Afghanistan has flourished to pre-war levels and more. In addition, corruption amongst officials is still rampant, and election fraud is so bad, many believe Afghanistan should no longer be listed as a democracy.
And yet, we support him.
But soft, it's possible Karzai understands precisely what he was saying...
Ahmed Wali Karzai, who was head of the Kandahar provincial council, had become a political liability for the Karzai government after a series of allegations were levelled against him, including that he was on the CIA payroll and involved in drug trafficking.
He denied the charges, and the president repeatedly defended him, denouncing accusations that his brother was involved in criminal activities in the restive south.
What better way to pave your own exit than to eliminate the smoking guns of your office.
(crossposted to Simply Left Behind)