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Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! October 28, 2009 Round TwoBy Greyhawk
By the looks of it, this NY Times story was going to tell the whole truth:
But rather than acknowledging the (thus far fruitless) Obama administration goal of establishing an Afghanistan government "power sharing" plan (with Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah both on board), a new narrative was established: "It was only Senator Kerry's relentless efforts, and a round-the-clock lobbying press by American and European leaders, that staved off political disaster." And that, ultimately, was the underlying message in the ceremony announcing Mr. Karzai's concession last week: Mr. Karzai may have agreed to follow the law -- he may have agreed to act in a democratic way -- but he did so only after representatives of the United States, the United Nations and the largest European countries all but pushed him onto the dais to do it. But while Karzai obviously wanted to avoid a runoff election, his insistence on following the constitutional path is simultaneously:
But that was just a warning shot. Karzai, however, chose to push back a bit during a CNN appearance this weekend... ...although he also signaled his willingness to have Abdullah Abdullah in his government:
But like the New York Times, The Washington Post demonstrated who controls the narrative in the U.S. with their headline "Karzai rules out sharing power"
Note also the comment above that we're going to do this according to the constitution - the Karzai response now usurped by the "because we forced them to" narrative. (Of which the Karzai camp - having agreed to runoffs only in defiance of the extra-constitutional power sharing option - was probably unaware.) Meanwhile, challenger Abdullah Abdullah was introduced to Americans via two Sunday morning chat programs - and struck all the right notes for Team Obama on CNN: ...while offering "Republican-friendly" quotes on the same topic to Fox:
But while the clearly politically-adept Abdullah also ruled out a "power sharing" option, indicated Karzai was unreliable, and condemned the fraud associated with the initial election results, his own questionable votes were left unmentioned and unquestioned on both networks. Still, more troops has always been the promised reward for a more acceptable Afghan government, and in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Senator John Kerry signaled a likely way forward that downplayed expectations ("Achieving our goals does not require us to build a flawless democracy... what we're talking about is "good-enough" governance"...) but indicated that simply agreeing to runoff elections was not enough: President Karzai and Dr. Abdullah's decision last week to agree to hold a run-off election shows that both men are willing to put their country ahead of politics. But that result is not an end in itself. It will only matter if we use it as an opening to strengthen our partners and fix the problems of governance. The truth is, the decisions made and actions taken in the weeks and months ahead will be what really give meaning to that moment. If this is to be a turning point, we must strengthen the capacity of the Afghan government and insist that its leaders embrace lasting reforms. This must include addressing the problems caused by corrupt officials at every level of government. Obviously that won't be easy, but it is essential to any chance of success. If the four brigade option as described here (with an allusion to Senator Kerry's speech) turns out to be that chosen by President Obama, the low-ball number will indicate decided displeasure with the Afghan partner. Some of the senator's other remarks have already proven to be prescient; these illuminating comments... If effective governance is to take hold--and I believe our mission depends on it--then our Afghan partners must tackle corruption at the highest levels. The fact that the Afghan government has not prosecuted a single high-level drug trafficker damages all our other efforts because it goes to the question of credibility. The narcotics trade - which generates about 90% of the world's heroin and $3 billion a year in profits - not only fuels the insurgency, but also finances the corruption that corrodes governance....would prove particularly well-timed, as the Obama administration moved beyond "warning shots" at Karzai and towards direct fire in this New York Times piece today:
Previously: The wicked game (and parts two, three, four and five) Posted by Greyhawk / October 28, 2009 10:40 AM | Permalink 1 TrackBackTrackBack URL: http://www.mudvillegazette.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/16848 (Part one here) ***** As the scheduled November 7 second round election date draws near, last minute efforts to replace the Karzai government in Afghanistan are moving into high gear. From London:Dr Abdullah Abdullah is meeting his main allies in Kabul... Read More |
March 19, 2010Dawn Patrol 03/19/2003 [Greyhawk]
"Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world." Mudville was founded in March, 2003. Our efforts to bring the thoughts, words, and deeds of milbloggers to a wider world evolved to become The Dawn Patrol in March, 2005. With today's entry we're going to reset the clock - but not re-write the history - and recreate the world as it was - on a day the world changed...
Updating... more to follow.... MILBOGSAndrew Olmsted, 19 Mar 2003, Stateside: It would appear that the liberation of Iraq has begun. Greyhawk, 18 Mar 2003, Germany: A united world could have, just maybe, brought down Saddam without firing a shot. We will never know. 19 Mar: We'll never know what a united world could have achieved... the UN could not agree on anything, the situation degenerated, and here we are. Status quo was not working. The French were too desperate for oil and trade at any cost. Well-intentioned Americans were led into the streets by Communists (and others) with an agenda. The media distorted the split. Many in America and abroad thought they could manipulate the situation to their personal gain. They miscalculated. The fire is lit. Pontifx ex Machina, 18 Mar, undisclosed location: Rolling out the gate, the guard gets a quick "hook-em, horns" sign as we weave through the barricades. Then we're off, cruising through the desert in a battered-up SUV. On the eve of war, only one thing passes through our minds: is there going to be any appropriate music on the radio? Lt Smash, 19 Mar, undisclosed location: Read the President's speech today. The clock is ticking. Chief Wiggles, 22 Mar, Kuwait: The war started Wednesday morning for us right after the president gave a speech to the American people that lasted about 4 minutes. We were all very anxious for this whole thing to be either over or get it on its way. Will, 22 Mar, en route: I am going to Baghdad to personally shoot that paper hanging son of a bitch! Lt Smash 20 Mar, undisclosed location: Sgt Stryker, 20 Mar, Stateside: Iraq to File U.N. Complaint About Attack Primary Main Objective, 30 Mar, undisclosed location I Dare Kofi to Come Get Me.
BruceR, Flit, 19 Mar, Canada: AND SO IT BEGINS. Godspeed, Yanks. Come home safe and soon. Andrew Olmsted, 20 Mar 2003, Stateside: The most important thing to remember over the next few days is this: the first reports are almost always inaccurate. First reports are generally submitted in the heat of battle before any real analysis can take place. Therefore, they're highly subjective, based on limited information, and rarely hit the mark. So as the first reports of 'surgical strikes' on Iraqi forces come in, it's best to take those reports with a grain of salt... Iraqi BlogsSalam Pax, Baghdad: The bombing aould come and go in waves, nothing too heavy and not yet comparable to what was going on in 91. all radio and TV stations are still on and while the air raid began the Iraqi TV was showing patriotic songs and didn't even bother to inform viewers that we are under attack. at the moment they are re-airing yesterday's interview with the minister of interior affairs. THe sounds of the anti-aircarft artillery is still louder than the booms and bangs which means that they are still far from where we live, but the images we saw on Al Arabia news channel showed a building burning near one of my aunts house... American BlogsGlenn Reynold's has a ton of links. Newpapers
Updating... more to follow.... |
The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
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