Karzai Is Said to Doubt West Can Prevail Against Taliban

[Elmore Furth]

Source: New York Times



In January Hanif Atmar, then the interior minister of Afghanistan, gestured during a medal ceremony in Kabul. He and another top official have resigned from the Hamid Karzai government.

“The president did not show any interest in the evidence — none — he treated it like a piece of dirt,” said Amrullah Saleh, then the director of the Afghan intelligence service.

Mr. Saleh declined to discuss Mr. Karzai’s reasoning in more detail. But a prominent Afghan with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Mr. Karzai suggested in the meeting that it might have been the Americans who carried it out.

Minutes after the exchange, Mr. Saleh and the interior minister, Hanif Atmar, resigned — the most dramatic defection from Mr. Karzai’s government since he came to power nine years ago. Mr. Saleh and Mr. Atmar said they quit because Mr. Karzai made clear that he no longer considered them loyal.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/12/world/asia/12karzai.html?hp

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Am I the only one who notices parallels with Viet Nam?

Notice how many South Vietnamese officials easily switched sides when North Viet Nam won? There were many who were playing both sides of the war then and probably now in Afghanistan.

[msongs]

1. the only people who don't are in power in washington dc lol nt

[Fumesucker]

2. Nah, they know it too, they just lie about it..

It's been obvious from the very beginning that the West wasn't going to prevail in Afghanistan.

And yes, the situation is much like Vietnam was.

[davidinalameda]

3. sounds good to me

we can start bringing our troops home then and let his corrupt ass deal with the taliban

[ShamelessHussy]

4. he's not the only one

as the more we kill, for our corporate energy masters, the more they will resist.

[Alamuti Lotus]

5. These former ministers will not be joining the Taliban

Amrullah Saleh is a high figure in the "Northern Alliance" band of anti-Taliban warlords, Mohammad Hanif Atmar fought for the pro-Russian government defeated by the mujihadeen.

If anybody is playing both sides, it's Karzai, though I suspect he's just going slightly nutty and unstable when considering the prospects of his future. For his sake, I hope nobody told him what the Norwegians did to Vidkun Quisling when his little puppet state fell apart.

[aquart]

6. Never fight a land war in Asia.

Never fight a land war in Asia.

[saigon68]

7. Been There ---Done That