Lemur
04-04-2010, 19:41
Ruh-roh. I forget who formulated the rule, but one of the basics of Middle Eastern gamesmanship is, "Ignore everything they say to you in English in private; only what they say in public in their native language matters." And based on that rule, we're in a spot of bother (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303917304575162012382865940.html).
President Hamid Karzai lashed out at his Western backers for the second time in three days, accusing the U.S. of interfering in Afghan affairs and saying the Taliban insurgency would become a legitimate resistance movement if the meddling doesn't stop.
Mr. Karzai, whose government is propped up by billions of dollars in Western aid and nearly 100,000 American troops fighting a deadly war against the Taliban, made the comments during a private meeting with about 60 or 70 Afghan lawmakers Saturday.
At one point, Mr. Karzai suggested that he himself would be compelled to join the other side — that is, the Taliban — if the parliament did not back his controversial attempt to take control of the country's electoral watchdog from the United Nations, according to three of those who attended the meeting, including a close ally of the president.
Mr. Karzai blamed the lawmakers' resistance to his move on a foreign conspiracy, they said. The Afghan president's latest remarks came less than 24 hours after he assured U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that he was committed to working with the U.S. That phone call was precipitated by a similar--but less vitriolic--anti-Western diatribe Mr. Karzai delivered earlier last week.
If you can't trust the local kleptocrat whom you installed by force and prop up with billions of annual dollars, who can you trust?
President Hamid Karzai lashed out at his Western backers for the second time in three days, accusing the U.S. of interfering in Afghan affairs and saying the Taliban insurgency would become a legitimate resistance movement if the meddling doesn't stop.
Mr. Karzai, whose government is propped up by billions of dollars in Western aid and nearly 100,000 American troops fighting a deadly war against the Taliban, made the comments during a private meeting with about 60 or 70 Afghan lawmakers Saturday.
At one point, Mr. Karzai suggested that he himself would be compelled to join the other side — that is, the Taliban — if the parliament did not back his controversial attempt to take control of the country's electoral watchdog from the United Nations, according to three of those who attended the meeting, including a close ally of the president.
Mr. Karzai blamed the lawmakers' resistance to his move on a foreign conspiracy, they said. The Afghan president's latest remarks came less than 24 hours after he assured U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that he was committed to working with the U.S. That phone call was precipitated by a similar--but less vitriolic--anti-Western diatribe Mr. Karzai delivered earlier last week.
If you can't trust the local kleptocrat whom you installed by force and prop up with billions of annual dollars, who can you trust?