Kandahar Province: catch all thread

[MikeF]

Nato gambles on collaboration with Ahmad Wali Karzai in Kandahar
Anthony Loyd, Kandahar
Times Online

Nato has taken one of the biggest gambles of its mission in Afghanistan by reluctantly deciding to collaborate with Ahmad Wali Karzai, the notorious power-broker of Kandahar — despite allegations that the half-brother of the President is involved in the drugs trade....

Senior coalition officers would prefer to see the back of Wali Karzai but they have come to the conclusion that their only option is to work with him. They are trying, in the words of one officer, to “remodel” a man accused of running a private fiefdom in the south.

“The plan is to incorporate him, to shape him. Unless you eliminate him, you have to [do this],” said a senior coalition official involved in planning what is viewed as this summer’s make-or-break military operation in Kandahar. “You can’t ignore him,” he added. “He’s the proverbial 800lb gorilla and he’s in the middle of a lot of rooms. He’s the mafia don, the family fixer, the troubleshooter

I suppose this has been a long time coming. This Karzai seems to be the main sphere of influence that bridges the underground world of A'stan. He knows everyone through family, trade, and relationships. From a military planning viewpoint, we tread lightly with these types of dudes waiting for the appropriate timing to properly shape. We did the same thing with Muqtada al Sadr and the Ayatolla Sistani.

Recently, I've wondered if waiting too long to talk is the wrong approach. I just watch HBO's new documetary Sergio based on Samantha Power's book "Sergio: One Man's Fight to Save the World."

Sergio Vieira de Mello was the head of the UN mission in Iraq until he was killed, but before that, he worked throughout conflict zones with great success in Cambodia and East Timor. He was fascinated with the intellectual mind of evil men, and his approach upon arriving in country was to go talk to everyone. He did not wait.

Perhaps, we could learn some lessons from the UN .

v/r

Mike

[John T. Fishel]

Mike, from some really capable Brazilian diplomats.

Cheers

JohnT

PS, of the UN, I have always said that it is (1) less than the sum of its parts and (2) if it didn't exist we would vave to invent it.

[MikeF]

Mike, from some really capable Brazilian diplomats.

Cheers

JohnT

PS, of the UN, I have always said that it is (1) less than the sum of its parts and (2) if it didn't exist we would vave to invent it.

True. Today, I'm sorting through Dr. Metz's two recent monographs on Iraq decision making. It is interesting to learn about timing on decision making processes and how some capable men like Sergio intuitively knew it.

It would seem that Ahmad Wali Karzai understands the game as well.

[Entropy]

The plan is to incorporate him, to shape him. Unless you eliminate him, you have to [do this]

Is the coalition "shaping" Karzai or is Karzai "shaping" the coalition?

[MikeF]

Is the coalition "shaping" Karzai or is Karzai "shaping" the coalition?

I'd submit that we should not dismiss the capability of GEN Patraeus. He is no fool; however, some senior coalition official might be receiving an ass-chewing over that comment. It's like showing your hand to the table at a poker game.

Worst case, he can call Ryan Crocker out of retirement for some back-up.

[Danny]

This is a blunder of gargantuan proportions. As I said in a post myself (because I saw this coming), the criminals must all be killed, the drug rings marginalized and it made so dangerous that they cannot operate, and the crime families dysfunctional. This includes Karzai's brother. If we actually do this (as described in the article) then we lose Kandahar. I don't care if some shade of "security" is brought to Kandahar. We are siding with criminals, and criminals they will remain. When we leave Kandahar, we will leave with Soldiers having their legs blown off, hearing damaged, and some will perish. In the end, it will have been for nothing because the people will be longing for the justice that the Taliban bring when they come in and kill Karzai's brother.

I hate to be so negative, but I saw this coming and spoke out against it. We have chosen the wrong path.