Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country’s booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according to current and former American officials.
The agency pays Mr. Karzai for a variety of services, including helping to recruit an Afghan paramilitary force that operates at the C.I.A.’s direction in and around the southern city of Kandahar, Mr. Karzai’s home.
The relationship between Mr. Karzai and the C.I.A. is wide ranging, several American officials said. He helps the C.I.A. operate a paramilitary group, the Kandahar Strike Force, that is used for raids against suspected insurgents and terrorists. On at least one occasion, the strike force has been accused of mounting an unauthorized operation against an official of the Afghan government, the officials said.
Mr. Karzai is also paid for allowing the C.I.A. and American Special Operations troops to rent a large compound outside the city — the former home of Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban’s founder. The same compound is also the base of the Kandahar Strike Force. “He’s our landlord,” a senior American official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
#2, #4, #5. My understanding is that the theocracy was not really a failed state. Yes it was repugnant, starting with its treatment of women and moving down from there. But it did have law and order, the mythical Mussolini-Italy trains running on time, or as closely as they have in a century. No, the theocracy didn’t fail, it was defeated militarily. In six years, the forces of goodness and light had defeated the strongest military power in the world (I’m talking about Nazi Germany) and started rebuilding. But in Afghanistan, which never was much more than a basket case militarily, they’ve mostly fuddled around for six years, despite the human losses. How long will it be before moderate Afghanis say “Fzck this, I hate the Taliban but let’s bring them back so we can get on with our lives.” ? Goodwill has an expiration date. The date is not printed on the packaging, but it does have one.
#20 Li,
“Tell me, do you work for the CIA, or are you just fully in support of a rogue government on principle?”
The CIA does not do pretty things, good things, nice things or PR campaigns. They do whatever they have to do in order to preserve their country’s interest. Or at least that was they used to do during the Cold War, nowadays they’re just a shadow of what they used to be thanks to Republican Cronysm.
Sounds like they were buying information not arranging a love match. Get over it.
The only thing that matters is was the information good? If yes they got our money’s worth if not they need a new informant.
I wonder if the anti drug campaign in Afghanistan is structured to avoid Hamid’s brother’s operation or even aid them. If you really want to bring down the crime stats in a bad area the best way is to allow an effective and mature gang to control it. They make money and allow the police to avoid getting their hands dirty(let the trash take itself out).
#5 suggests that it is wrong to say that Afghanistan’s future is as a drug state or an extreme religious/terrorist state. What other options would you suggest?
Afghanistan has an extremely militarized and poorly educated population, NO infrastructure, and extremely rugged terrain.
There are tons of very poor places that don’t have Afghanistan’s “special circumstances.” Team Sweatshop will empty the bench before even considering Afghanistan. Hey, I guess they might win the lottery…
You kids are either very young or poorly informed. The Iran Contra affair was much more disgusting, and thanks to his role in that Oliver North got his job at Fox. There’s nothing, nothing, your government won’t do in the name of national security. Now, don’t you feel much safer?