Kerry is in Afghanistan

[karynnj]

U.S. Senator John Kerry is in the Afghan capital to meet President Hamid Karzai, Gen. David Petraeus, U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and other top American officials, who are pushing Karzai to address government corruption

A statement Tuesday by Karzai's office says he sent a letter to President Barack Obama saying the war strategy needs review. Without mentioning neighboring Pakistan, Karzai said in the letter that there is a need to forcus on the "roots and sanctuaries" of terrorism outside Afghanistan instead of only fighting the war in Afghan homes and villages.

In the meeting at the palace, Karzai also pressed his desire to disband private security companies, which he says have created a separate security structure that is undermining the nation's army and police.

http://www.todayonline.com/BreakingNews/EDC100817-0000220/US-Senator-John-Kerry-meets-Afghan-president-on-corruption,-private-security-companies

Here is CNN's article, which has more details, which are interesting. (The title is weird - "Karzai meets with U.S. Senator on war" - what's up with that?

Karzai said that the war won't be successful until there's "a clear explanation of who is friend and who is foe and until we focus on the bases and roots" of terror.

"This is why there is a need for reviewing the goals and strategy of war," Karzai said.

Participants in the meeting included Dr. Rangin Spanta, Afghanistan's national security adviser; U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and Gen. David Petraeus, the top international military official in the country.

Karzai told officials that they should avoid actions that disturb Afghans and discussed his plans to shut down private security firms.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/17/afghanistan.karzai.kerry/

[TayTay]

1. Excellent news

Gen. Petraeus is off his press junket and back in Afghanistan and that is also good. I think only god things will happen from having Sen. Kerry, Pres. Karzai and Gen. Petraeus all together to negotiate.

[karynnj]

2. I agree and I think there is some merit to what Karzai said

It is fascinating to think of what the results could be to those three looking at the current failing strategy and looking for a way out of the mess the McChrystal policy created.

It is very annoying that neither Boston paper is covering this (I looked) even though they both covered what was a far less momentous Brown trip to Israel and Jordan, where he was the sole Senator - not exactly a high powered delegation. ( http://bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1273656 )

While Brown's was not necessarily a junket, the Chair of the SFRC and a key adviser to the President going to Afghanistan and Pakistan is clearly far more significant.

[TayTay]

3. True on the coverage

I guess Kerry visiting Afghanistan is "dog bites Man." Not newsworthy.

Brown in Afghanistan and looking like an intelligent person is "Man bites dog," and therefore newsworthy.

[wisteria]

4. I am very interested in seeing what comes out of this meeting. n/t

[karynnj]

5. Several articles after Kerry spoke to the press in Afghanistan

Afghanistan's government must show progress on eradicating rampant corruption or risk losing the support of the United States, which helps it stay in power, a senior US politician said Tuesday.

Senator John Kerry described corruption as "one of the most significant challenges facing Afghanistan and facing the allies who are supporting Afghanistan," as a war against Taliban insurgents drags towards its tenth year.
<snip>
I think in the next days the government of Afghanistan's response to anti-corruption efforts are a key test of its ability to regain the confidence of the people and provide the kind of governance that the American people are prepared to support with hard-earned tax dollars and most importantly with the treasure of our country, the lives of young men and women," Kerry said.

"I believe President Karzai wants to do that but my belief that he wants to do it is not going to be enough. It's going to have to be done."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ixas2ZyvQUVLsqcPnTv0DOlCO0jw

"That's the test right now, that's why I'm here, because I think President Karzai and his government need to understand that there is no patience for endless support for something that doesn't meet higher standards with respect to governance," Kerry told a small group of reporters in Kabul after meeting Karzai.
<snip>
He said it was not yet time for Washington to abandon its support of Karzai simply because Americans were impatient for results, adding that Obama's new strategy of sending extra troops had only been in place since December 2009.
<snip>
"I understand the impatience but impatience is not a strategy and impatience doesn't meet the security needs of our country," said Kerry, who was to have dinner with Karzai later on Tuesday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE67G0I7

CNN has edited it's article and now says "John Kerry" rather than US Senator - and they have a photo.

The Washington Post now has an article, the strong lead sentence says it all.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry told the president of Afghanistan on Tuesday that his efforts to battle corruption were crucial if he wants to retain the support of U.S. taxpayers at a time when more American troops are dying in the war.

Kerry's two meetings with President Hamid Karzai came at a time when U.S. lawmakers are increasingly doubtful that the military effort can succeed without a serious campaign against bribery and graft that have eroded the Afghan people's trust in their government.

"I think that in the next days, the government of Afghanistan's response to anti-corruption efforts are a key test of its ability to regain the confidence of the people and provide the kind of governance that the American people are prepared to support with hard-earned tax dollars and with most importantly, with the treasure of our country - the lives of young American men and women," Kerry told reporters.

"If we have knowledge of things that we know are happening and the (Afghan) government doesn't respond to it, it's going to be very, very difficult for us to look American families in the eye and say, `Hey, that's something worth dying for."'

McClatchy has this:

U.S. Sen. John Kerry arrived in Kabul on Tuesday for another tough diplomatic mission to smooth over newly strained relations between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Obama administration.

Ten months after playing a pivotal role in persuading Karzai to agree to a presidential runoff after a corruption-plagued vote, Kerry returned to the Afghan capital with a firm new message: Karzai must allow the country's new anti-corruption departments to do their job.

"President Karzai and his government need to understand that there is no patience for endless support for something that doesn't meet higher standards with respect to governance," Kerry told a small group of reporters in between meetings with the Afghan leader.
<snip>
Kerry's visit follows closely on the heels of an hour-long phone call President Barack Obama made to Karzai last week that included discussion of their disagreement over the American-backed anti-corruption investigators.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/08/17/99289/top-senate-democrat-presses-karzai.html#ixzz0wtGMoh6L

[Mass]

7. U.S. sends warning to Afghanistan, and John Kerry delivers the message

LA Times has a long article.

http://mobile.latimes.com/wap/news/text.jsp?sid=294&nid=19064362&cid=16677&scid=1854&ith=1&title=Top+Stories

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/17/AR2010081703979.html

And the Globe links to the AP article.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2010/08/17/sen_kerry_karzai_must_fight_graft_or_lose_support/

[karynnj]

6. Interesting LA Times article

The Obama administration on Tuesday delivered what might be its toughest warning yet to President Hamid Karzai over corruption in his government, but chose a messenger who in the past has managed to forge a rapport with the mercurial Afghan leader in times of tension.

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, flew in for a one-day visit to the Afghan capital that included two sessions with Karzai, whose relations with the United States have plunged to a low not seen since last summer's fraud-riddled presidential election.

Karzai and the West are in the midst of a confrontation over his efforts to assert control over two Afghan bodies set up with U.S. backing to combat high-level graft and fraud. The dispute burst into the open last month after a senior aide to Karzai was targeted in a bribery investigation.

<snip>
However, Kerry also telegraphed willingness to listen to the Afghan leader's grievances, which could help provide a face-saving way out of the impasse. He also made a point of framing Karzai's objections to the work of the anti-corruption units in sympathetic terms.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-0818-afghanistan-kerry-20100818,0,3357198.story

[karynnj]

8. Another Boston Globe article on Kerry in Afghanistan - explaining the difficuly mission there and in

Pakistan. I guess they really do know they have two Senators. (It also explains why I couldn't get any article that details his visit to Pakistan this morning - he was in Kandahar - going to Pakistan for dinner. (It is now 10:43 pm there)

Senator John Kerry spent today in Afghanistan, meeting with Afghan government officials, US forces and tribal leaders in the southern city of Kandahar, which has been wracked by suicide bombings. Kerry, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, dined with Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Tuesday night and left today for Pakistan. Last year, Kerry helped convince Karzai to accept the results of an international election commission, a diplomatic coup. This time, he told reporters in Kabul that he intended to warn Karzai that Americans were losing patience with corrupt governance.

Tonight, Kerry is dining with Pakistan's top general, Ashfaq Kiani and the troubled country's spy chief, Shuja Pasha. Tomorrow, he will tour the flood-affected areas of Pakistan.

Kerry has a difficult mission in Pakistan: convincing Pakistanis that the United States cares about their plight, despite the fact that aid has been slow to the flood-effected areas. The US has donated $90 million to flood relief, just a fraction of the nearly $500 million that the United Nations said is needed to keep millions of displaced people alive for the next three months.

Kerry was instrumental in getting an unprecedented $1.5 billion annually in civilian aid to Pakistan, a country that has been shaken by increasing insurgent attacks in recent years. But it is unclear whether any of those funds will be re-programmed to help the flood victims. Kerry's attempts to bolster civilian government in Pakistan have been complicated by the long-held suspicion among American military forces that Pakistan's spy agency has been helping to attack targets in neighboring Afghanistan, including US soldiers.

(this is the entire article - http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2010/08/kerry_meets_wit.html

It is actually harder to figure out which mission is more difficult - but the Pakistan one is the one that if he can succeed might stabilize a nuclear power.

[karynnj]

9. WP summary - " Another emergency in Afghanistan, another Kerry visit"

During last year's election, the Massachusetts Democrat walked Afghan President Hamid Karzai back from the political precipice of a fraudulent election. On Tuesday, he landed in the capital at an equally crucial juncture. At no previous moment has the United States appeared so determined to force Karzai to fight corruption or risk losing the money and troops that prop up his government.
<snip>
"I'm not going to stand up and defend for one instant a policy that is based on supporting a corrupt government, if that's what it wound up being," Kerry said. "But that's the test right now. That's why I'm here."

Kerry suggested that if Karzai ignores evidence of corruption, his support in Congress would crumble.

"It's going to be very, very difficult for us to look American families in the eye and say, 'Hey, that's something worth dying for,' " he said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/17/AR2010081705501.html

Gee, I remember flowery articles after Karzai was sworn in for the second time, of how he bonded with an Obama administration official, who was in attendance - am I too partisan that I am happy that the WP notices that in the afghan/Pakistan area, the biggest foreign policy challenge, Kerry is needed?

[wisteria]

10. No, you are not partisan. Obviously, Senator Kerry is regarded very highly

is respected and trusted in regards to Afghanistan and Pakistan. I consider him to be a true patriot-he is doing this for country and not for political gain as he has been accused of in the past.

[Luftmensch067]

11. NPR Morning Edition story with audio -- JK in Kabul

From yesterday:

http://npr.vo.llnwd.net/kip0/_pxn=0+_pxK=17273/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2010/08/20100818_me_01.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1149&dl=1

[karynnj]

12. Yay ! audio!

It is interesting to actually hear him speak - as there are subtle differences between the impression given by just reading it.

[karynnj]

13. Long VOA transcript of an interview on Afghanistan

http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_US_Senator_Says_Visit_Gives_Him_Better_Understanding_Of_Afghan_War/2132438.html