Karzai's The One

The WaPo tells us that NATO is planning to work with Karzai as the next President of Afghanistan, which ought to be a straw in the wind if and when Obama completes his second review of our AfPak strategy - presumably, if Karzai is good enough for NATO then we are abandoning the argument that his government is too corrupt to be our partner in a sustained counter-insurgency.

From the WaPo:

The United States and NATO countries fighting in Afghanistan have told President Hamid Karzai's government that they expect him to remain in office for another five-year term and will work with him on an expanded campaign to turn insurgent fighters against the Taliban and other militant groups.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other NATO foreign ministers, meeting Friday in New York with their Afghan counterpart, reached "consensus" that Karzai would probably "continue to be president," whether through a runoff or as the legitimate winner of more than 50 percent of votes cast in disputed Aug. 20 elections, an Obama administration official said.

What Karzai has called "reconciliation" with insurgents who agree to lay down their arms is emerging as a major factor in administration deliberations about a way forward in Afghanistan, officials said. Along with plans to increase the size of the Afghan security forces, the U.S. military is developing programs to offer monetary and other inducements to insurgents it thinks are only loosely tied to the Taliban and other militant groups.

"I think that success in Afghanistan looks a great deal like success in Iraq," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Sunday. The situation in Iraq began to improve after Sunni tribes turned against al-Qaeda insurgents and accepted a security alliance with U.S. forces.

Success in Iraq, however, also depended on a significant increase in U.S. troop deployments, a question that remains unanswered in Afghanistan. Gates said that he expects in "a matter of weeks" a White House decision on a revised strategy, and whether to supply U.S. commander Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal some or all of the additional troops he has requested.

"A matter of weeks"?  I think the off-elections will be done in five weeks,after which Obama may feel it is safe to enrage people by actually making a decision..

Comments

[Jim Ryan]

Nice documentary about Honduras. The supreme court chief justice weighs in at about 17th minute.

[Don't mess with Meshad.]

Less than three weeks to the new moon. And Riyadh is on board.
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[justonebullet]

A matter of weeks?

For sure. For starters, there is this bid for 2016 Olympics by Chicago. He must take AF1 there so he could personally lobby usually corrupt IOC members. Who better to handle corruption than someone who was trained in that homeland?

If Bush had done this for a city in Texas, there will be headlines everyday accusing him of dereliction of duty. Obama gets a free pass yet again for dithering while troops die.

[Jane]

"A matter of weeks"? I think the off-elections will be done in five weeks,after which Obama may feel it is safe to enrage people by actually making a decision..

That sort of nails it.

[JorgXMcKie]

Aaaaah, he'll just vote "present" again. Any way we can change his title to "Present of the United States"?