White House could cancel Karzai visit
Washington - An upcoming U.S. visit by Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai could be called off if he continues to make troubling political statements, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.
President Obama invited Karzai to visit Washington on May 12, but Gibbs said that subsequent "troubling and untruthful remarks" by the Afghan president have raised questions about the value of such a meeting.
The government will evaluate any further Karzai remarks to determine whether the meeting should take place, Gibbs said. (Watch more of Gibbs' remarks)
Karzai was re-elected president last year in voting that was marred by irregularities and that required a runoff.
On Friday, Karzai irritated the Obama administration when he blamed the irregularities on foreigners who want a "puppet government" in Afghanistan. He further aggravated Washington, his biggest backer, on Sunday when he told a gathering of tribal leaders that the U.S.-led alliance will not move against Taliban fighters in Kandahar "until you say we can."
"I can't speak to why he said those things," Gibbs said. "They're troubling. They are confusing. They've been investigated and found to be untruthful."
we afghan are also human
please help us get us out of this war.
Hamid – our man from Texaco – then our man in Kabul – is now his own man in a no man's land. Yes, we generous empire builders have a vision for Afghans, a bright & prosperous vision. Few of us may truly comprehend that our vision is still a dream. Enticing. Worth fighting & dying for. But still more in our imaginations than on the ground. How come you say, as you nurse your 2d scotch in your comfy McMansion? Well, plain & simple: Afghanistan has nothing but hopes & dreams. Which have been dashed so often that they are by now hard wired to primitive pursuits. Power, Land. Money. Greed. Killing. Surviving. And in this bleak martian landscape, we expect Hamid to transform primitivism to modernity. We might do better to first plan to help establish a less primitive nation. And basic forms of Transportation. Communication. Irrigation. Industry. Energy. Healthcare. Education. And if Hamid & bros. grease the pashtun skids with narco power, then that's the price to pay for introducing basic improvements. Let's leave our western sensibilities, & refined value at our borders. And start to understand the hell on earth that the Afghans wish to escape. Which is simply days of peace, elementary wages & sustenance, and a right to feel unburdened and free. The mercenaries have the run of the land, ISI-blessed and OBL-led. Freedom will come from enabling Afghans to pursue happiness doing what they're good at. Afghanistan has been a legendary source of nuts & dried fruits for centuries. US, UN and the world should massively invest in growing Afghan agribusiness that enables Afghanis to once again have pride and money from traditional strengths. Only then will they be able to truly transcend the curse of the taliban.
anyone believe that Afghanistan is some kind of "puppet regime" that Obama wants, is so lame it isn't funny. Afghanistan isn't doing this country any good, and I'm sure the Prez wants out asap. Just my reasoning on this.
Now that Big Oil corporations have secured leases to Iraq's enormous untapped Oil fields, troops are being told it's time to come home. It seems ENTIRELY that the reason why Bush-Cheney attacked Iraq was over the Oil Fields in Iraq and with Saudi Oil fields already peaking and declining, they are poised to drain Iraq's oil fields now.
And the Oil and Gas pipelines thru Afghanistan? Obviously those are a large reason why the US Military is still fighting a proxy war for India and the Taliban is still fighting a proxy war for Pakistan in Afghanistan.
Obviously when the CIA busted up a peace treaty meeting between UN envoys and Karzai envoys with the Taliban commanders in Pakistan, it became clear to most of the world that suddenly the CIA was moving in a very different direction than their hand selected and installed puppet ruler, Hamid Karzai.
I suspect the CIA has been actively selecting Hamid Karzai's successor since it became public knowledge he was on the CIA payroll and his Opium exporting brother was also on the CIA payroll.
Afghanistan President Karzai is now operating solely in his survival role, it should be interesting to see if President Obama offers him exile in a luxury resort paid for by US taxpayers for the rest of his life, or if President Karzai continues his attempts to forge an agreement with the Taliban for Karzai to remain in power.
i think USA need to remove Hamid karzi from he's post , i think he think only for him self and he's family . he never think about Afghanistan people . i think Afghanistan people don't need him anymore .
Afghanistan, i.e. the Taliban, had less to do with 9-11 than Bin Laden, even if you believe that Bin Laden perpetrated the attacks on the towers. Let's not confuse those murders with the reasons why we're in Afghanistan. You mentioned the oil pipeline, there is also the stability of the region at stake if you believe the war is winable over the long term. None of this has anything to do with the question 'is it worth the sacrifice of some of our kids'. The answer to that question lies in whether you can fix what is broken in the governance and corruption that is status quo there or should we be doing that at all. Also, can you 'Westernize' the Afghanis or should we in the first place because that is what you are talking about at the end of the day whether or not anyone wants to say it. (We absolutely ARE nation building no matter what Bush's said.) We are occupying their land and will do so for the foreseeable future. That is a fact. Also, we supposedly live in a democracy. Something like 70% of our populace doesn't want us there. If our democracy were functioning as a true democracy, we'd be withdrawing our forces now.
Let's take a good look at ourselves and who we really are as a people in our actions and not so much on paper, i.e. are we really free? Are we self determining? Before we insist on sending troops to free others, we might think about freeing ourselves from the bureaucratic stranglehold our 'elected leaders' have on us before we espouse freedom to the peoples of other countries.
I say let the Afgans fight there own war and bring our troops home. That government is hostile toward us so why are we there?? Our troops would be more appreciated and useful if they were here protecting our own borders from the illegals and drugs coming into our country and poisioning our citizens.
Obama is not going to challenge the entrenched power base in our country by withdrawing our troops. He is not going to try to reign in the Federal Reserve Bank either. Interestingly, the last person to try doing so was JFK. There is the way things ought to be and the way things are. To find out where that line is, try and challenge the way things are in this country. I think you will find them to be less 'democratic' than our forefathers imagined and the inalienable rights guaranteed in our Constitution are shrinking every year.
Good, I hate that guy. keep him outta our country.
Lesson #1 Never ever compare USA to Afghanistan. Nor its so-called democratic system placed recently there. 8 years ago Kandahar was the capital of Taliban gov. Do you really think it'll be an easy task to convince 600,000 hard core talibs backers to believe and trust the foreigners. Karzai has to answer to afghan tribe leaders. US putting pressure on him like he can pick up the phone and tell them ...behave.
This is a long term process that it will take two to three decades to accept the new system.
Things will change once the elders are exiting this world...the new generation do like the new system....it's all about timing.
You're confused Onesmallvoice. Karzai was Bush's stooge. Bush and Cheney placed him in power. There was a pipeliine deal with Afganistan, but not working yet....just like all that oil from Iraq didn't come to fruition. Obama doesn't get along with Karzai. He sees the corruption. Obama put more troops in Afganistan because that was who "our war" was with....not Iraq who had nothing to do with 9-11
Gentlemen,
We have already poured in so much resources in more than eight years in that areas ( Afgh & Irag ) with no clear cut result. US can not continue to waste in that endless war while at home we suffer from very high unemployment never seen in last four decades.
Don't kid yourselves. The reason we're still at war in Afghanistan and still spending billions getting our kids killed for nothing is that there is a pipeline in the North of the Country that the defacto powers that be want to control. That is it and end of story. Have any of you noticed the policies that have been retained from the Bush Administration? Mr. Obama has about faced on his pledge to end these wars because there is a limit to his powers. He has masters too. The fact that so many of Bush's policies have been retained is indicative of the larger plan that is in place for that region, not so much Mr. Obama's policies. Along the same lines you might note that Mr. Bernanke's policies have been continued and the support of the same bankers and CEO's that crashed our economy have been maintained as well. The reason being that DEMs and the GOP are opposite sides of the same coin. Time to break out of this two party farce.
I will have to say that Karzia is smart enough to know what he is dealing with. That is more than I can say for the United States Senate and Congress. So I tell you Obama is the Anti-Christ, Devil on Earth, or what ever else you want to call this Demonic Figure. His words describe him, He is a False Hope, If you listen to him you will love him. He carries a Bow without an Arrow. He will conquer all through his speech, his false hoods will capture all who sit and listen to him.
well its a rap,if he did in deed made those statements hes not welcome to come to the united states.
Karzai should not get in the way.
Dan- explain win this war but stand clear of the fight against Al Qaeda and Taliban.
Who do you think we are fighting?
The current impasse may be due to chronic wabbling of a young and unexperienced Administration. This gets noticed right away by ruthless people like the Afghans, proud of their endless "macho" warring. The situation probably came to a head after the malicious advice by Ajmadinejad, who knew how to exploit the situation. I can envision the same scenario as Stalin's contempt for the "ailing" Roosevelt in Yalta, or Hitler's contempt for Lord Chamberlain. They were like lions savoring their would-be prey. It should be noted that Stalin and Hitler were psychopathically proud of their war exploits, just like President Karzai and practically all Afghans. Wabbling, including the "conflicting" language that they are bombarded with in the media each day, is simply not a language these people understand! They may have concluded that "America has no helm."
If what was said by the Afghan President is found to be true. Speed up our withdrawal.
Just read Oliver North's books about Iran-Contra. Anyone who understands this Middle Eastern mindset would have seen this coming – I know Colonel North probably did.
It seems that Karzai needs to worry about the way he governs people and let the generals fight the war. If he can get the people behind him then we might be able to win this war in Afghanistan but he should stand clear of the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda.
I thought that Obama would sit down and talk to anyone anytime anywhere. Now Obama is confused and maybe will cancel the meeting? Bush would have at least put this fool on a short leash. We all have to question why Obama has give orders to not destroy the poppy fields. This is just more proof that Obama and Hillary are failing our troops.
Tell me again just how is our national interest or our national security served by this unwinnable war? Let's get out.
If we read the old history of Afghans, they are people of self respect and sons of soil.
Has anyone else noticed this or just me ? I believe Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai maybe doing drugs! Take a look at his speeches recently and you will notice his eyes twitching,sniffling nose in public like my good neighbor.
US Politicians including Obama shouldn't maul him publicly. Leave him alone for a couple of years.
If Karzai is anyone's stooge, it would be Bush's, since he was president when Karzai was
chosen. Obama probably would have been quite happy if Dr. Abdullah Abdullah had won
the recent Afghan election. Your charge that Obama, and by implication NATO, would stop at nothing to win thiis war is patently false.
Troops OUT now! How many more Americans must die before we stop this insane war? I have been here as a parent for two deployments. Yes, I know there are many more people who've been through more. I cannot imagine what the parents, wives, children of the fallen must feel when they hear this rhetoric Karzai has been spewing for MONTHS.
It isn't new. Criticism heavy and action slow on the part of the Afghan government. We've invested trillions in this mess. Time to count our losses and come home. This is the soil that needs protection. Not that dirt.
Enough is enough. Fed UP with all of it.
No media coverage. No information–oh excuse me, No News IS NOT good NEWS when you haven't heard from your kid in weeks.
NOT okay, CNN, NOT ok, Mr. President. Just plain old unacceptable.
I hear a lot about pulling out of Afghanistan, which is absolutely a fair position. No one seems to be speaking of repercussions. Is that because you don't think there will be any?
OneSmallVoice,
I have watched you post on here for a bit. You offer absolutely nothing in the way of substance.
You simply throw out conclusory statements that are, quite honestly, just plain wrong. While I fully support your right to speak your mind, you have absolutely no credibility.
Back up your assertions with fact or, at the very least, some reasoning.
Have respect for your thoughts, feelings, and views. It is embarrassing.
Onesmallvoice: that would be BUSH..and Bush Sr, he was buddy buddy with that dude, and he was the one who started this aimlessly war. get ur facts right.
an appropriate exit strategy needs to be developed and put in place, as this is a no win situation. we all know this.
This has been a disaster from the start. This is a man whose bluff
might as well be called. Would he go over to the Taliban? Would
a guppy do lunch with sharks? Is he a guppy, or just another
species of shark?
I know the people and the region very well, this is making a "mountain out of a mole hill"." Everything you are reading is intended for a purpose. You need to understand that Karzai and other Afghan's do understand international relations and diplomacy very well. As to NATO troops being there, yes they know what is at stake (Both sides). There is a cultrual issue at stake which most of you do not understand. Watch what happens next?
Considering the ENORMOUS efforts being made by the world community and with the United States of American bearing the brunt of the lion´s share of responsibilities and deaths and casualties, in no way can I understand the diplomacy exibited by a person supposed to be a friend of America. I refer him to catch a glimpse of Dale Carnegie´s HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE.
This needs introspection by the US. Are our objectives limited to simply defeating taliban and establish democracy? I think not, if that was the case we wont have supported taliban in the first place. across the world we have multiple stands on the same issue according to our convenience. the biggest part of the problem in Afghanistan is Pakistan, who has many sympathisers with taliban and ferment trouble across the border.
We have a family member an LEP embedded in the Marine Corps. over there. I say if Karzai wants to join the Taliban...let him. ..then pick him up just like the other insurgents.This war is going in the same direction as the Vietnam war. Asking permission to go after terrorists in a country we are at war with resulting in refusal to do so on their part is nothing short of harboring terrorists.
Burn the poppy fields, why let the Taliban continue to be funded by the Heroin production? This is insane. Currently Law Enforcement in our own country are under attack because the Gov. wont stop the drugs & illegals from crossing our BordersI When the children of Southern Californian towns lives are threatened by drug cartels Its time we demand our Gov. be held accountable for their in actions. They work for us ...not to further their own political agendas.
We are throwing a temper tantrum. We can't have an independent free thinking government and want them to be on our leash at the same time.
but he will miss getting snubbed by the whitehouse "how low can you go"
Enough. Bring our troops home and let Afghanistan get back to its own game of tribal warfare.
Shades of Sadam Hussein, Osama and others we have supported in the past who have turned on us at a later date. We should stop supporting this guy now and cut our loses and get out. He is enjoying the security blanket thet our men are giving him coupled with the billions of tax payers money and most importantly, the lives we are laying down for his country. If he is exhibiting these kind of behaviors now, immagine what he would do years from now when his country is prosperous and other Arab country tyrants manages to buy his regime with their oil money. This guy is a disgrace and the whole thing about his regime is a joke. I say get out now while we can.
We need to pull our money and our troops out of there! Obama has it right. No more blank checks. Thank God it's not up to the Republicans or we'd never get out of there!
I somehow doubt very much that Barack Obama will cancel any visit by his stooge,Hamid Karzai.Obama will stop at almost nothing to win that slimy war and that's that.