President Karzai speaks out on Afghan corruption

President KarzaiNothing says politics like leaders going back and forth with an international version of he said she said- and with so much turmoil in Afghanistan right now and the international community pointing fingers at President Karzai and Afghanistan’s corrupt government and leadership, it’s only natural that he would try to stand up for himself.

In recent weeks President Karzai has held the parliament in session past its planned winter break because they failed to pass his nominations for many cabinet positions, and the escalating violence in Afghanistan is underscoring the fears surrounding elections scheduled for later this spring. One of the major issues on everyone’s mind is that Karzai is having a tough time putting together his government, and the international community continues to point fingers toward what they say is a corrupt government.

For his part, President Karzai says that the accusations of corruption are “blown out of proportion,” and largely blames the issue on the sensationalism of the western media. While there is no doubt some credibility to his perspective, it’s a bit of a cop out to say that corruption charges are trumped up by the media to sell ads.

Then Karzai got a little vain, saying:

"With the international community, I don't need to have their favor. They are here for a purpose: the fight on terror. And we are working with our purpose, which is the stability and safety of Afghanistan.”Look, President Karzai- you may have a different purpose than the U.S., sure, but to say that you don’t need their favor, that you don’t need their support for what you are trying to do- well, that’s just a little blown out of proportion on your part!

As you are now fighting for peace and stability in Afghanistan- do you think you would be anywhere close if the U.S. and NATO had not come in and dispensed with the Taliban for you? Do you think you could have pulled that off on your own?

Which leads Karzai to his next point, about the Taliban:

"We don't want to undermine the Taliban: we want the Taliban to come and live peaceful lives in our country. We want to undermine the terrorists. I see a difference between the mainstream of the Taliban and the terrorists. That's what I want NATO countries to understand with us: that the war on terror is not in Afghan villages. It's not in the pursuit of every man that's wearing a turban and has a beard," said Karzai.

So Karzai is echoing the growing sentiment that the U.S. doesn’t understand the people of Afghanistan, can’t spy on them, can’t figure out how to hunt them down, and can’t get anything right about the war. Karzai emphasized the need to stop night raids and stop arresting Afghans.

"The international community, especially the West, they must respect Afghanistan and its government, and understand that we are a people, we are a country, we have a history, we have interests, we have pride, we have dignity," said Karzai.

And I have to agree with him here. It sounds to me like he is asking to be left alone- so, fine. Starting 16 months from now, Obama is planning to do just that.

Photo Credit: World Economic Forum (via Flickr under CCL)