President Karzai's Second Term
We regret the decision by Afghanistan’s opposition leader, Abdullah Abdullah, to withdraw from this week’s runoff election for the presidency. After President Hamid Karzai’s supporters tried to steal the first-round vote, Mr. Abdullah had strong reason to mistrust the process. But Afghan voters deserved another chance. And Afghanistan’s government — under assault from the Taliban and its own corruption and incompetence — desperately needed the legitimacy of a cleaner vote.
Now that Mr. Karzai has been re-elected by default, he is going to have to do everything in his power to persuade his people — and the rest of the world — that he is deserving of their trust. After the last seven years of mismanagement and corruption, that will be a hard sell.
The Obama administration, which had to twist Mr. Karzai’s arm to get him to agree to a runoff, is going to have to twist even harder to get him to build a viable government. President Obama’s characterization Monday of the Afghan election process as “messy” was, to say the least, an understatement. We hope that he and his aides are talking a lot tougher in private.
To start, Mr. Karzai must appoint a new group of ministers and provincial governors who are committed to rebuilding their country, not enriching themselves. (We hope rumors that he plans to fire the competent governor of Helmand Province, Gulab Mangal, are false.) The Interior Ministry, which oversees the corruption-plagued Afghan national police, must be reformed. The agriculture, energy and private development agencies all need better leadership.
The Afghan people need to see their government working to protect them and improve their lives if they are going to risk their lives and resist the Taliban.
Mr. Karzai must also reach out to members of the opposition, choosing competent technocrats for senior jobs. Mr. Abdullah has ruled out joining a unity government. But the government would be stronger if some of his supporters decided to participate. We hope Mr. Abdullah is committed to playing an active, constructive role in Afghan politics.
Mr. Karzai must — urgently — break ties with his most unsavory cronies. During the campaign, he allied himself with Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, a notorious warlord whose forces have been accused of killing thousands of Taiban prisoners of war in 2001. Justice demands that General Dostum stand trial for his crimes.
And Mr. Karzai must finally cut his ties with Ahmed Wali Karzai, his brother who, American officials say, is a big player in the opium trade. Washington must also cut its ties with the younger Mr. Karzai, a member of the Kandahar provincial council and the most powerful figure in an area where the Taliban insurgency is the strongest. The Times reported last week that he has received regular payments from the C.I.A. for the past eight years. That must end.
Getting a credible government in place is essential. But it is only a first step. The list of policy problems that have been ignored or mismanaged is depressingly long. President Karzai needs to work with the Americans to come up with a strategy to try to woo midlevel Taliban leaders in from the cold. The two governments need to quickly develop a plan to accelerate training of the Afghan security forces.
Mr. Karzai and the Obama administration don’t have much time to get this right. The Taliban’s military strength is growing by the day. Americans’ appetite for the Afghan war is evaporating nearly as quickly.
We regret the decision by Afghanistan’s opposition leader, Abdullah Abdullah, to withdraw from this week’s runoff election for the presidency. After President Hamid Karzai’s supporters tried to steal the first-round vote, Mr. Abdullah had strong reason to mistrust the process. But Afghan voters deserved another chance. And Afghanistan’s government — under assault from the Taliban and its own corruption and incompetence — desperately needed the legitimacy of a cleaner vote.
Now that Mr. Karzai has been re-elected by default, he is going to have to do everything in his power to persuade his people — and the rest of the world — that he is deserving of their trust. After the last seven years of mismanagement and corruption, that will be a hard sell.
The Obama administration, which had to twist Mr. Karzai’s arm to get him to agree to a runoff, is going to have to twist even harder to get him to build a viable government. President Obama’s characterization Monday of the Afghan election process as “messy” was, to say the least, an understatement. We hope that he and his aides are talking a lot tougher in private.
To start, Mr. Karzai must appoint a new group of ministers and provincial governors who are committed to rebuilding their country, not enriching themselves. (We hope rumors that he plans to fire the competent governor of Helmand Province, Gulab Mangal, are false.) The Interior Ministry, which oversees the corruption-plagued Afghan national police, must be reformed. The agriculture, energy and private development agencies all need better leadership.
The Afghan people need to see their government working to protect them and improve their lives if they are going to risk their lives and resist the Taliban.
Mr. Karzai must also reach out to members of the opposition, choosing competent technocrats for senior jobs. Mr. Abdullah has ruled out joining a unity government. But the government would be stronger if some of his supporters decided to participate. We hope Mr. Abdullah is committed to playing an active, constructive role in Afghan politics.
Mr. Karzai must — urgently — break ties with his most unsavory cronies. During the campaign, he allied himself with Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, a notorious warlord whose forces have been accused of killing thousands of Taiban prisoners of war in 2001. Justice demands that General Dostum stand trial for his crimes.
And Mr. Karzai must finally cut his ties with Ahmed Wali Karzai, his brother who, American officials say, is a big player in the opium trade. Washington must also cut its ties with the younger Mr. Karzai, a member of the Kandahar provincial council and the most powerful figure in an area where the Taliban insurgency is the strongest. The Times reported last week that he has received regular payments from the C.I.A. for the past eight years. That must end.
Getting a credible government in place is essential. But it is only a first step. The list of policy problems that have been ignored or mismanaged is depressingly long. President Karzai needs to work with the Americans to come up with a strategy to try to woo midlevel Taliban leaders in from the cold. The two governments need to quickly develop a plan to accelerate training of the Afghan security forces.
Mr. Karzai and the Obama administration don’t have much time to get this right. The Taliban’s military strength is growing by the day. Americans’ appetite for the Afghan war is evaporating nearly as quickly.
Source: New York Times
« Back to World News
Related News
-
Karzai sworn in for 2nd term, vows to combat corruption Nov 2, 2009 @ 09:31 PM
KABUL--President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for a second term on Thursday morning in a ceremony in which he made peace and reconciliation his top priority and said he wanted Afghans to assume control of their own security by the end of his five-year term.
-
Karzai Vows Strides in Security, Corruption Fight Nov 2, 2009 @ 09:31 PM
Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzaipledged to pursue peace with militants, fight corruption anddrugs and build a national security force capable of defendinghis country within his next five-year term, which began today.
-
Clinton Presses Afghan President to Fight Corruption Nov 2, 2009 @ 09:31 PM
Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,in Kabul for today’s inauguration of Afghan President HamidKarzai, said he has a “window of opportunity” to crack down oncorruption and respond to Afghan and international concerns.
-
UN evacuates foreign staff from Afghanistan Nov 2, 2009 @ 09:31 PM
KABUL (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday it would temporarily evacuate hundreds of its international staff from Afghanistan due to deteriorating security, a sharp blow for Western efforts to stabilize the country.
-
Abdullah camp negotiated for cabinet positions Nov 2, 2009 @ 09:31 PM
KABUL -- When Abdullah Abdullah chose to withdraw from the presidential election this week -- effectively handing President Hamid Karzai a new term -- he described his position as a selfless protest against a flawed electoral system that was not fair for all Afghans.
