Good. Neither do I. Bring our troops home. All of them. Now. Yesterday. “Karzai sees no good in US presence in Afghanistan,” from Dawn, February 3 (thanks to Lookmann):
WASHINGTON: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview published on Sunday that he saw no good in America’s presence in Afghanistan.
The Afghan leader referred to the Taliban as his “brothers”, to the Americans as “rivals” and claimed that he had not spoken to US President Barack Obama since June.
The interview to The Sunday Times, London, was widely reproduced in the US where commentators pointed out that Mr Karzai was purposely distancing himself from Mr Obama as the Afghan leader’s 12-year reign comes to an end.
“This whole 12 years was one of constant pleading with America to treat the lives of our civilians as lives of people,” he said, adding that he met Mr Obama at Nelson Mandela’s funeral in South Africa but did not speak to him.
“Letters have been exchanged” though, he added.
Insisting that he “saw no good” in the American presence in Afghanistan, Mr Karzai said: “They did not work for me, they worked against me.”
Although the United States spent $648 billion during the Afghan war, Mr Karzai said it did not help him.
“The money they should have paid to the police they paid to private security firms and creating militias who caused lawlessness, corruption and highway robbery,” he said.
“They then began systematically waging psychological warfare on our people, encouraging our money to go out of our country.”
Mr Karzai also blamed the United States for creating “pockets of wealth and a vast countryside of deprivation and anger” in Afghanistan.
Asked why he was refusing to sign a bilateral security agreement with the United States, Mr Karzai said: “Under pressure, our kings signed things and all that turned out to be disastrous for Afghanistan. Under pressure today if I do the same I don’t know the consequences.”
Mr Karzai said he did not worry about the possibility that his refusal to sign the agreement could cause the US and other Western nations to reduce their financial assistance to Afghanistan.
“Money is not everything. If you ask me as an individual, I would rather live in poverty than uncertainty,” he said.
Yeah, and I’m the King of Siam.
JamesonRocks says
I agree, Robert! Bring the troops home now. No need to delay any longer. On the way out, they need to be sure to destroy any equipment, vehicles, and weapons they can’t bring back.
CogitoErgoSum says
And the lights are fading ever dimmer in Afghanistan while the darkness awaits its cruel return to the graveyard of empires….the dustbin of dreams….the bottomless pit of empty hopes and forsaken aspirations. Shall we let the dead bury the dead? If only….. but I fear this nightmare will return again to haunt the world before men of conscience awaken from their torpor. I see no good in the approaching night…….no good at all.
mortimer says
The way to stop jihad is to deprogram Muslims, rather than fight them.
Rob says
Good luck with that Morty.
Until host nation governments insist on vetting Imams and their sermons, it won’t happen.
logdon says
The lol moment of the week.
gravenimage says
Mortimer wrote:
The way to stop jihad is to deprogram Muslims, rather than fight them.
………………………………..
With respect, Mortimer, when has this ever worked? Pious Muslims won’t listen to the “filthy Kuffar”.
We’ve pushed Islam incursions back many times before—and never once by hoping Muslims will spontaneously abandon their foul creed.
Josh says
“/
Gabriel says
<script>alert("0wNed")</script>
michael says
<script>
alert(1) says
heh
Gamaliel says
Our troops in Afghanistan could do a lot of good if they overthrew Karzai and wiped out the Taliban and secularized the country. The problem with our having troops there is that we don’t do those things.
The problem is that the U.S. doesn’t finish the job that it needs to finish. If you don’t destroy the enemy the enemy will keep killing your soldiers. If you don’t secularize the country they will constantly be indoctrinated to hate you.
Retreat isn’t the answer. Victory and completion of the mission is.
duh_swami says
He has enriched himself at US taxpayers expense, and then he bites the hand that feeds him. He may want the US out, but he will not refuse jizya payments.
The Afghan leader referred to the Taliban as his “brothers”
That’s not going to help him much when the US leaves and the Taliban take over.
Edward Wolford says
America should notify our allies that we’re leaving and that they should as well. We should pack everything that can be moved and mine everything that can’t be moved. We should move out of that country and not say a word to that POS Karzai.
This is the longest war in American history. The ingratitude is simply breath-taking.
Lookmann says
A very sensible way forward, though I am not sure any sense prevails in WH of today.
big mess says
This whole 12 years was one of constant pleading with America to treat the lives of our civilians as lives of people. Pleading with our Taliban brothers to treat the lives of our civilians as lives of people? Haha, hell no, who cares about that sh*t.
Clare Bailey says
President Karzai, you have to take responsibility for your county (1) accepting arms from the United States to \”help\” the Taliban jihadis defeat the Russians PREVIOUS to (2) THEN accepting the escalating United States military presence on the ground in Afghanistan to \”help\” crush the very same Taliban jihadis by arming the Afghan mountain men. THIS was the time to see \”no good in US presence in Afghanistan\”. You were duplicitous and ineffective against the real problem – Afghan\’s adherence to Islam, the cancerous ideology that spawns jihad.
gravenimage says
Karzai sees no good in US presence in Afghanistan
…………………………….
What—not even in keeping Karzai himself from being butchered by the Taliban and having his corpse dragged through the streets and then displayed to the populace? That’s what happened to his predecessor.
But now that the Afghan authorities are poised to *put stoning back on the books*, there is really no reason for us to be there. Our attempt to civilize these most Islamic of Muslims failed to work, as anyone who understood the least thing about Islam would have understood.
More:
The Afghan leader referred to the Taliban as his “brothers”, to the Americans as “rivals”…
…………………………….
He considers the Taliban—who forced women into Burqas, oppressed minority Hazaras, and gave Osama bin Laden as his “brothers”—so telling.
Karzai spent years in the West, including in the United States-and like so many Mohammedans, it has not civilized him at all.
More:
“This whole 12 years was one of constant pleading with America to treat the lives of our civilians as lives of people,” he said…
…………………………….
What absolute crap. Complete projection.
More:
Insisting that he “saw no good” in the American presence in Afghanistan, Mr Karzai said: “They did not work for me, they worked against me.”
…………………………….
Notice he does not mention working *with* the Americans—instead, he is upset that with all their appeasement that they didn’t serve as his unthinking Janissaries. *Ugh*
More:
“They then began systematically waging psychological warfare on our people, encouraging our money to go out of our country.”
…………………………….
What utter crap. With the exception of the opium trade, the Afghans have almost no capital of their own, because they have almost no industry. Virtually the whole of their economy is Western—especially American—foreign aid.
More:
Mr Karzai also blamed the United States for creating “pockets of wealth and a vast countryside of deprivation and anger” in Afghanistan.
…………………………….
Yet more crap. The deprivation much predates the presence of the United States—as does the inchoate rage. Both suffuse Afghan “culture”, thanks to the omnipresence of Islam.
As soon as the US finishes pulling out, the Taliban will be back in. If the duplicitous Karzai has any sense, he will be out well before that happens…
Dick says
After what I’ve read about Karzai’s opposition to the U.S., I am now convinced that he is working a secret deal with the Taliban to allow them to take over if they leave him in power.
James Hamilton says
US is doing too much! I mean why should it go there and attack on the people of that country? This act has triggered the fear for US.