When Hamid Karzai first took to the international stage in Tokyo in 2002 he was hailed as the only man who could reunite and rebuild Afghanistan after three decades of war. Seven years on, the new US Administration appears to see him as a liability rather than an asset, and looks increasingly likely to seek an alternative candidate to support in the coming election.
| Paging Mr. Diem, Mr. Ngo Dinh Diem, to the red courtesy phone ... |
The political future of the Afghan President will be high on the agenda for Richard Holbrooke, the new US special envoy on Pakistan and Afghanistan, who will visit the two countries for the first time in that role next week.
President Obama, Vice-President Biden and Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, are frustrated by the corruption and incompetence of the Karzai administration, diplomatic sources have told The Times. US officials have been particularly angered by persistent allegations that Mr Karzai's half-brother is involved in the drug trade, and by the President's repeated criticism of US raids that cause civilian casualties, the sources said. One US official said that Afghanistan was becoming “a narco-state”, providing 90 per cent of the world's illegal opium, while Mr Karzai appeared unable to govern outside Kabul or provide services to his citizens.
| And good luck finding a replacement ... |
President Bush, despite criticism of the Afghan leader from allies such as Britain, remained steadfastedly loyal to Mr Karzai, telling The Times last year that he found him to be an honest man.
Mr Obama, by contrast, was reported by The New York Times this week to be planning to abandon Mr Bush's fortnightly video-conference calls with Mr Karzai. Speaking at the Pentagon on Wednesday, Mr Obama signalled that he was preparing to make “some difficult decisions” in Afghanistan.
Speculation about Mr Karzai's political demise mounted last week when it was reported that an unofficial delegation of four potential candidates for the Afghan presidency had visited Washington. The delegation reportedly consisted of Dr Abdullah Abdullah, a former Foreign Minister; Dr Ashraf Ghani, a former Finance Minister; Ali Ahmad Jalali, a former Interior Minister; and Gul Agha Sherzai, Governor of the eastern province of Nangahar. The four men have neither confirmed nor denied the meeting.
| I guess Afghanistan doesn't have a law like we have that keeps opposition party members from interfering with foreign affairs ... |
Mr Obama has been sharply critical of Mr Karzai, saying in July that his Government had “not gotten out of the bunker” to organise Afghanistan's Government.
When Mr Obama visited Afghanistan that month he met Mr Sherzai - the Governor of Nangahar - before seeing Mr Karzai in Kabul. Mr Biden was reported to have been so angered by Mr Karzai at their last meeting that he walked out.
The White House sought to play down the issue, saying that relations with Mr Karzai were part of a wider policy review. Robert Gates, the Defence Secretary, however, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week that corruption in Afghanistan was a “very serious problem”. |