Radio Azadi reports in Dari Persian that center-right Pakistani politician and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif says that the Pakistani government should initiate the reconciliation talks with the Taliban.
This may be one of the most depressing interviews I have read since the start of the Obama Administration. (And it will get worse later today — I have seen clips from a similar performance on NBC’s Meet the Press; we’re waiting for the full video and transcript.) The White House, amidst the political complexity of this week’s events in Afghanistan, put up two military men — Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and the US Ambassor to Afghanistan, General Karl Eikenberry — for set-up questions from John King.
The political knowledge in this exchange is almost vacant, with the platitudes about “democracy” (note Eikenberry’s excited spin that he couldn’t get the indelible ink off his finger) substituting for the serious issues about the election — today, there are reports that the declaration of the vote may be delayed because of fraud allegations — and the politics beyond it.
Instead the conversation turns to militarising the US involvement, with the question, “How many more troops?” And, of course, this is all rationalised by skipping over the Afghan people and referring to “Al Qa’eda” (who, I’ll note for the record, are not in Afghanistan but in another country).
KING: This is the “State of the Union” report for Sunday, August 23rd.
In Afghanistan today, both President Hamid Karzai and his top challenger are claiming victory in last week’s election, raising tensions, even though it could be weeks or more before the official results are certified. It is an uncertain military situation, as well, with fighting between U.S. forces and the Taliban intensifying. And fresh indications President Obama could soon be asked to commit more American troops.
Here to talk about this and other global challenges are the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen , and the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry. He joins us from Kabul.
And Mr. Ambassador, let me start with you. There are complaints, escalating complaints this Sunday about fraud in the elections. On the threshold question of will this balloting be credible, what is your answer?
EIKENBERRY: Well, John, it was an extraordinary two months that we’ve been through, with this being a very historic election. Afghanistan, the first time in the past 30 years that the Afghan people have led an election for their president, for provincial councils, very intense campaign that occurred over the last two months, all new in Afghanistan. Presidential televised debates, campaign rallies. A very civil debate that occurred over this time. Read the rest of this entry »
After 24 hours of bits and pieces on the Afghanistan election, with international bodies trying to put together a general picture of a satisfactory election amidst an estimated turnout of 40-50 percent and a steady drip of stories of electoral manipulation and fraud, the smoke (white? black? grey?) in favour of Afghanistan’s current President is seen:
President Hamid Karzai is cruising toward a first-round victory in Afghanistan’s presidential election, tallying 71 percent of the 4.5 million votes counted so far, knowledgeable sources revealed on Saturday.
As of 4pm today, one source confided to Pajhwok Afghan News, more than 4.5 million ballots had been calculated hitherto. Of the 4,514,084 votes counted thus far, the incumbent has collected 3,244,196.
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, main challenger to Karzai, bagged about a million votes, some 23 percent of the total calculated so far, the sources said. To be specific, he added, 1,029,467 votes went to the former foreign minister.
Ramazan Bashardost got 189,653 votes, Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmedzai 47,954 and Mirwais Yasini 2714. Another two million votes remain to be tallied from remote areas where Karzai was overwhelmingly supported.
Even if Abdullah were to collect 50 percent of the remaining votes, he could not force Karzai into a second-round election….
The information was reported to Pajhwok by a high-level party official who is watching the vote count. It was confirmed by a source from Karzai’s office, who is also watching the count.
1115 GMT: Pajhwok News Agency is offering a stream of reports pointing to manipulation and fraud in the counting of the vote. In one case in Khost Province, it claims that while residents say less than 500 people, the election commission returned a total of more than 22,000 for Hamid Karzai.
0840 GMT: No, I’ve Won. Abdullah Abdullah’s camp claim that he, not Hamid Karzai, is a first-round winner, taking 63 percent of the vote to Karzai’s 31.
If I were a cynic (which, of course, I am not), I would say that all remains to make this situation complete is for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to show up and say he won.
0715 GMT: Jim Sciutto of ABC News reports that the campaign of Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai’s main challenger, has denied the claims of a first-round victory by the Karzai camp.
Perhaps more importantly, other questions are opened up. Look, for example, to how Karzai tries to exert his authority, not only with other Afghan groups but against his American “allies”. And, for all the cautions about “democracy” in this election, has the process opened up some space — symbolic or “real” — for social and political action against corruption and for rights and development?
21 August, 0600 GMT: A Full Glass for Karzai? All day yesterday we used the phrase “half-empty, half-full” for the election, with mixed returns on turnout, “minor” violence which killed at least 27 people, and reports of irregularities and fraud.
The trend continues today, with one important exception. Election authorities say that the national turnout was between 40 and 50 percent, well down on the 70 percent for the 2004 Presidential election but above the 30 percent threshold needed for a valid result. Caroline Wyatt, reporting from Helmand for the BBC, has just engaged in a bit of cheerleading for the “success” and “incredible result”, given the issues of security. Other observers, such as Al Jazeera English, are being more measured in their views.
The important exception is President Karzai, whose team are already prepared to celebrate. Karzai’s campaign manager told Reuters this morning, “Initial results show that the president has got a majority. We will not got to a second round.” Read the rest of this entry »
Somewhere there are cats marvelling at the lives of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
At the start of this year, Obama Administration were considering how to oust Karzai from office. Supporting local authorities, the US blocked the President’s attempt to hold elections in April and, through American media, they put forth political alternatives. Only last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a public warning to Karzai, “We have made it very clear that we expect changes. We expect accountability, and we’re going to demand it.”
In the last 72 hours, however, Karzai has shown the political skills and tenacity that prompted the US to support him as the first post-Taliban leader in 2001. He has met Washington’s challenge by ensuring — barring a political catastrophe, coup, or assassination — that he will be returned as Afghanistan’s President in August elections. Read the rest of this entry »
Juan Cole offers a valuable overview of a series of important developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan:
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This may be one of the most depressing interviews I have read since the start of the Obama Administration. (And it will get worse later today — I have seen clips from a similar performance on NBC’s Meet the Press; we’re waiting for the full video and transcript.) The White House, amidst the political complexity of this week’s events in Afghanistan, put up two military men — Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and the US Ambassor to Afghanistan, General Karl Eikenberry — for set-up questions from John King.
We should never say, “Told you so”, but….
Somewhere there are cats marvelling at the lives of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
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