Are we or Karzai the fools?

 

You can fool most of the people all of the time.

President Karzai has promised to cut corruption in exchange for $billions more in handouts. Where have we heard that before? 

In July 2007 I had a debate in the Commons. The answering Minister was Kim Howells. In a lame response he said, ‘Corruption in Afghanistan is something that we just have to put up with.’ At the time, I asked him, ‘But is it something that British soldiers have to die for?
The only rational posture of a minister on the Afghan debacle should have been contrite and apologetic. But Ministers do not do contrition. The drugs policy is an utter abject failure. Heroin production is the highest ever and it cost British taxpayers £260 million on narcotics ‘reduction’ in addition to the £1billion we shell out on security".

Karzai had a new wheeze five years ago. It comes naturally to him. He planned to bribe his 'brothers in the Taliban' to change sides. Bribes are the lubricant to all Afghan political and business life. America has delivered millions of bubble-wrapped $100 bills to advance their cause in buying Afghans. 

Money is our only ace. It buys friendship, loyalty and information. Karzai cheated and bribed his path to power. He planned in 2007 to extend his sole strategy of corruption. We shelled out new £billions. It was a cheaper option than warfare and more acceptable to the British public than paying in blood. 

Karzai stays in power because he has a bottomless fund of NATO taxpayers’ money to win approval. It's corruption of course. But it's our Western corruption.

This is delusional politics based on the myth of the omnipotence of American-British power. If there is any problem, we will solve it. Turning anarchic Afghanistan to a model Scandinavian democracy? No Problem. Ending corruption that has been endemic in Afghanistan for centuries? We can do it. If any Coalition minister really believes that he can end Afghan corruption, and it’s possible he does believe it, the kindest thing would be to have him ushered away by men in white coats.

 

Comments

[D.G.]

"It's corruption of course. But it's our Western corruption."

Reminds me of someone saying of Saddam Hussein: "Of course, he's a son-of-a-b'ch. But he's *our* son-of-a-b'ch"

This'll probably end the same way :/

[HuwOS]

We can all be pretty sure that "decisions" about our actions in Afghanistan are not made on the basis of the effect they will or will not have in Afghanistan.
I think I am probably not alone in believing that when it comes to our "decisions" our eyes are on the US looking for the nod or the shake of the head.
While I do understand that when they put forward a "logic" for their actions that the temptation, for any honest person, is to show the flaws in the supposed logic under the assumption that at least some of the people who make the decisions are also honest and just need to be shown that the information they have is incorrect and once they understand that they will make different decisions.
We are, however, eleven years into a pointless and horrific actions in Afghanistan and it is clear from successive governments that they are not lacking in information, they are simply choosing a reality where their actions make sense and then selling that reality to their supporters.
It doesn't seem to matter which government it is, enough of the electorate want to believe in the fantasy realities presented to them that there is no blowback, there are no consequences for the governments that spin their lines.

Is it, possibly, the case that we all tend to make the mistake of focusing arguments towards these decision makers who, perhaps knowingly, give explanations that have nothing to do with their real motivations instead of addressing the electorate directly, and if so, how can that be done successfully.

There was little opposition to the initial invasion of Afghanistan, but the example of Iraq looms large, where millions knew at least enough to oppose the war, if not always enough to know precisely why they should be opposing the invasion and the effect of those millions with the rest of the electorate had precisely, no effect.
Even the eventually declared, indisputable evidence, that the reasons given for the Iraq war were incorrect and false did not lead to any consequences for the people who made the claims or the people who voted for the war.

What depresses me most about modern politics is not the politicians, it's that the electorate will not take, will not own, any responsibility for their own governments' nor for their own individual representatives.

We, and that includes everyone, including the politicians all get to vote, we are the final arbiters of who gets to represent us and yet, somehow, we are never to blame.
Not for anything, but especially not when people have been injured, maimed and killed, daily, monthly, yearly for the last decade, especially not, when they are other people that we don't have to feel anything for, after all, we are being generous enough to help them aren't we.