At first, Hamid Karzai comes off as a dandy. His karakul, his green cloak called a chopan, and his fastidiously trimmed beard makes him more the Beau Brummel of Afghanistan than its George Washington.
He was hand-picked by Dick Cheney as Afghanistan's Leader under the American occupation because he was Westernized (didn't smell like a goat), had lots of friends among the opium warlords (a particular asset for Cheney and the CIA), and had made a token effort to join the war against the Taliban after the US invasion. There is no evidence he actually did any fighting but that's what he claims.
Karzai has done little to help Afghanistan although he has looked good not doing it. His cabinet is an assembly of petty warlords and drug traffickers. The result is a feudalistic society. Any vestige of democracy was crushed when Karzai's warlord vassals engineered a massive vote fraud in exchange for their continued unfettered control of their fiefdoms.
Karzai is not some meek pretty-boy, although he tries to look like one. He didn't become the leader of group of ruthless warlords without being the worst of the lot. And then there is his alleged addiction to Afghanistan's principle export crop, opium, and the increasing signs he is batshit insane.
Hamid Karzai is becoming a real life Tony Montana.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment