Afghanistan Exit Strategy Watch - Our (Corrupt Man) in Kabul Version Posted by Michael Cohen

If President Obama is looking for another excuse to shift the US mission in Afghanistan away from counter-insurgency to something that looks a bit more like an exit strategy today's article in the Washington Post about corruption in the Afghan government should be helpful:

Obama administration officials fear that a move by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to assert control over U.S.-backed corruption investigations might provoke the biggest crisis in U.S.-Afghan relations since last year's fraud-riddled election and could further threaten congressional approval of billions of dollars in pending aid.

The concerns were sparked by Karzai's decision this week to order a probe of two anti-corruption units that have been involved in the recent arrest of several senior government officials on graft and bribery allegations. Karzai said the investigators, who have been aided by U.S. law enforcement advisers and wiretap technology, were acting outside the Afghan constitution.

I've long been a member of the "Let Hamid be Hamid" school of thought, but doing so also requires a somewhat sober recognition of the kind of leader with which you're dealing. It's fascinating that only a week after Dick Holbrooke extols Karzai's commitment to fighting corruption today's article features this little tidbit: 

But this official and others, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, expressed certainty that the real basis of Karzai's concern was the threat that corruption investigations posed to the government itself. Despite the task force successes, U.S. officials have cited repeated instances in recent months in which top government figures intervened to quash corruption investigations of politically connected Afghans.

"If I were in his shoes," the defense official said of Karzai, "I would also be concerned about it. Those high-profile arrests were done by Afghans, reviewed by Afghan judges. . . . They're finding things, and becoming more aggressive. There are people who are corrupt throughout the government who are upset about it. I think [Karzai's] feeling the pressure."

This isn't complicated. Hamid Karzai is not interested in curbing corruption. Allow me to repeat: Hamid Karzai is not interested in curbing corruption.

No matter how much we cajole him; how much we plead; how much we talk about its importance it isn't going to matter. At the very least, it won't matter enough to shift the fundamentally corrupt nature of his government. 

The key is to accept that fact and work within the limitations of a host country government, not hope against hope that things will change. That means focusing the US mission on stabilization and containment of the Taliban; not the dangerous belief that we, the United States, can extend the legitimacy of a government that is fundamentally illegitimate. A good place to start might be in paring back our objectives in Kandahar.

Comments

[DPirate]

"That means focusing the US mission on stabilization and containment of the Taliban; not the dangerous belief that we, the United States, can extend the legitimacy of a government that is fundamentally illegitimate."

Yes, but, unfortunately, the (closest thing to a) legitimate government seems to be the Taliban? How now, Brown Cow? I know Hamid Karzai very well. His other names include Manuel Noriega, Ferdinand Marcos, Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin. He will eventually retire in Dubai with his billions, unless he, too, gets too big for his boots.

Or we smarten up and choose the only solution available, which is to leave. Talking like this about paring down expectations and treating with the natives on their own sorry terms sounds both very pragmatic and reasonable, and very foolish and shameful. This is what we always do, and eventually we pay for it (along with the host* country's people, but we don't care about that beyond lip service and expediency). Sure, give them enough rope, if you like, but realize that it always ends in them hanging. A known outcome if then a planned outcome. I'm not sure what that says about us.

* - Host country? Really? Is this the term foreign relations people use for the places we occupy? Mi casa es su casa? Ridiculous! And it isn't listed in my NewSpeak Dictionary.

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