U.S. seeks to prop up Kandahar governor, sideline troublesome power brokers

[Robb]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/28/AR2010042805449.html">U.S. seeks to prop up Kandahar governor, sideline troublesome power brokers

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- The governor of Kandahar, Tooryalai Wesa, is an outsider with little sway in the province's politics, a mild-mannered academic who spent more than a decade in Canada and is considered by many Afghans to be ineffectual.

Below him in rank but far more powerful in reality is provincial council chief Ahmed Wali Karzai, a half brother of the president who has amassed a business empire fed by foreign aid and, many allege, the opium trade.

It is a power balance that U.S. officials are trying to upend.

In the hope of pushing power brokers such as Karzai to the sidelines, American officials are trying to infuse Wesa and his government with more clout and credibility. They see better governance as a central part of a U.S.-led effort that has brought thousands of troops to the region for a summer offensive against the Taliban........

Despite some DU assertions to the contrary, I would only add. Good read, if a little long.

[tekisui]

1. I hope your prediction of Karzai's dismissal come to fruition soon.

Support for his government in Afghanistan is less than one in four, now. The US/NATO is in a tricky spot, though. To get rid of Karzai, but not look to be responsible for it. And, make sure his replacement doesn't appear to be a puppet, but representative of Afghans.

I like this approach from Wesa:

To achieve reform, Wesa wants to build from the bottom up, making local tribal councils more inclusive by bringing in representatives from a wider range of villages. He expects that these councils will bring marginalized tribes back into the political fold and, at the same time, create local structures that can resolve grievances and more equitably hand out development money.

How about that not-so-subtle threat on Wesa from Karzai's people?

[Robb]

4. I doubt that very much. nt

[tekisui]

7. You doubt what?

[ShortnFiery]

2. Ah, more White Man's Burden?

"We are here to help the Vietnamese (Afghans), because inside every gook (raghead) there is an American trying to get out." .... Pogue Colonel - Full Metal Jacket

This sounds eerily familiar? :thumbsdown:

http://rupeenews.com/ideas-on-afghanistan/afghansitan-take-up-the-white-mans-burden/

Afghanistan defeat: British Failures of “the White Man’s burden”

“When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An’ go to your Gawd like a soldier.” Rudyard Kipling

[Robb]

3. You have a lot of fun making it about race. nt

[dionysus]

5. all about trying to paint you as eeeeevil.

;)

:rofl:

[ShortnFiery]

6. It's about Cultural Imperialism also. Do try to keep up? eom