Hamid Karzai . . . Our Diem Posted by Michael Cohen

So apparently the White House has decided that instead of admitting Hamid Karzai is a poor ally and a lousy partner for a robust counter-insurgency operation . . . we're going to be nice to him:

The Americans are pulling out all the stops for Mr. Karzai as part of a new charm offensive. Mrs. Clinton, one of the few people in the administration with a good rapport with him, has invited him for a stroll through the grounds of a private enclave in Georgetown. Richard C. Holbrooke, the special representative to the region, was dispatched to Andrews Air Force Base at 7 a.m. on Monday to personally greet Mr. Karzai. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will be Mr. Karzai’s host for a private dinner at the vice president’s mansion.

And Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, the ambassador to Afghanistan, who personally escorted Mr. Karzai on the flight from Kabul to Washington, was sent off to assure reporters at the White House that he now had faith in the Afghan president’s determination to succeed, a position that stands in contrast to his diplomatic cable last fall denouncing Mr. Karzai as “not an adequate strategic partner.”

The new warmth is oozing all the way to the Oval Office. President Obama, in an unusual show of hospitality and presidential attention toward a visiting foreign delegation, will be host to Mr. Karzai and others in his government for almost a full day at the White House, including a lunch on Wednesday followed by a rare joint news conference.

This reminded me of a passage I recently read in David Halberstam's "The Best and Brightest." When you're reading below substitute the name Dubrow (US Ambassador to Vietnam) for Eikenberry; Diem for Karzai and Vietcong for Taliban:

The Dubrow (Eikienberry) tour had not been a happy one; he had watched the beginning of the Vietcong (Taliban) pressure against Diem (Karzai), and simultaneously the accelerated estrangement of Diem (Karzai) from friends, allies and reality. Their discussions had become longer and longer monologues, and then, as Dubrow (Eikenberry) insisted on interrupting and telling Diem (Karzai) how poorly things were going, their meetings became more and more infrequent. Dubrow (Eikenberry) was, if anything, a very conservative figure, but he had been told to be candid with Diem (Karzai), and that candor was not becoming unpleasant . . . His pleas to Diem (Karzai) about governmental reform, about improving the quality of commanders, about broadening the base of the government resembled nothing so much as the pleas General Stillwell to Chiang Kai-Shek to do the same thing, and they were met with the same lack of appreciation. By the end of his tour, Dubrow (Eikienberry) was virtually persona non grata.

When the Administration decided to replace him, it did not change the policy; it did not doubt the accuracy of what Dubrow (Eikenberry) had been reporting, but it could not afford a serious re-evaluation of the policy, dependent as it was on Diem (Karzai) with all his faults. So the change in policy would go from being honest with Diem (Karzai) to being nice to him, hoping that somehow this would create a new confidence and mutuality of trust.

Eerie, isn't it?

Practically on cue, we have this tweet from Andrew Exum yesterday, "One of these guys has to go. And I think it is obvious Eik. has neither a relationship with Karzai or believe in COIN.

I'll tell you; where is George Santanaya when you need him.

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Very well written.I would only say that as president, Hamid Karzai is viewed as a uniting force for all Afghans.We should not forget he has been awarded many honours.

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