If there is a single individual in Afghanistan who symbolizes the troubles we face in attempting to quiet the Taliban rebellion, it’s not Hamid Karzai–the ineffective president–or Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, it’s the other Karzai, Ahmed Wali, the crook who controls Kandahar, as my esteemed colleague Tim McGirk writes in this report.
The amazing thing here is that the US military and the CIA seem to be on different pages. The military (and the State Department) know that the Afghan government will never have credibility in Kandahar, which is the center of gravity for the rebellion, until Karzai is sent packing; the CIA supports him–and other corrupt warlords–because he provides intel, allegedly, about the Taliban. This is a vestige of the failed Bush Afghan policy, supplanted by the Obama-McChrystal strategy of attempting to win over the populace with better governance.
I remain a shaky supporter of the Obama strategy. It may well be that with the progress being made against Al Qaeda in Pakistan, the disposition of Afghanistan recedes as a major U.S. national security concern. But, in general, I’d rather see our government supporting the people of Afghanistan rather than the crooks. This is a real litmus test: peace won’t come to Kandahar so long as Ahmed Wali Karzai is running the show. He has to go. And soon.