‘Genuinely Troubling’: White House Assails Karzai Comments
EmailWhite House press secretary Robert Gibbs Friday morning labeled “genuinely troubling” comments by Afghan President Hamid Karzai suggesting US and United Nations officials tried to steal the election from him last Fall.
“Obviously some of the comments by President Karzai are troubling, they are cause for real and genuine concern,” Gibbs said. “The amount of resources that have been dedicated to both deal with extremists in Afghanistan as well as to set up the type of government necessary at all levels.”
President Obama traveled to Afghanistan earlier this week and reiterated – yet again — his message to Karzai that he needs to further combat corruption in the government.
In a speech to officials from the country’s Independent Election Commission in Kabul Thursday, Karzai said that "foreign embassies" tried to bribe IEC officials to delay the election results so as to force Karzai into a coalition government.
"Today I have come here to tell you that there was widespread fraud and rigging in the presidential and provincial-councils elections,” Karzai said, according to the Associated Press. “It was not the Afghans who committed the widespread fraud," he said, accusing former deputy envoy of the United Nations Secretary General in Afghanistan Peter Galbraith; European Union Chief Observer General Philippe Morillon, and “embassies in Kabul.”
(Click HERE to listen to our podcast interview with Galbraith from last November.)
The Afghan president actually accused Galbraith of having threatened to kill an IEC official – saying he would "dig his grave with his own hands,” Karzai charged – which needless to say is a charge Galbraith dismissed as false.
"I don't talk that way,” Galbraith told the Wall Street Journal. “It's as absurd as his accusation that I and my team perpetrated the fraud to get him re-elected.”
Karzai also used language to describe the presence of the US in the country that the White House, State Department, and Pentagon found disturbing.
“In this situation there is a thin curtain between invasion and cooperation-assistance,” Karzai said in this New York Times translation, saying that if US troops are perceived as “invaders” the insurgency “could become a national resistance.”
Gibbs said today that the White House, working through the State Department, is “seeking clarification from President Karzai about the nature of some of his remarks. And I think the president was quite clear with President Karzai over the weekend of the necessary steps that have to be taken to prove governance and corruption in order to deal with the problems that we face there.”
-jpt
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Karzai is a very wretched person in this globe and he wants to stay in power with the help of international community and minting money from them. He is trusted by Warlords who are busy in crimes and drug business they don’t want peace in the region therefore they are making anti statement against Drone attacks on the insurgents. If we see the act than Drone technology performance is for better. World is spending money for peace but Karzai along with warlords and druglords are wasting time. National army, police, system from local to up in the across Afghanistan should be implemented as early as possible for the smooth running of process. If world community is successful in making rule of law in Afghanistan than it will be a great success for all otherwise spending process and blackmailing from Karzai mafia will be going on.
President Karzai wants to stay in power for whole life but we should see the performance in front of world community. If we see the performance of Karzai as compare to the Drone technology than we will found Karzai as a failed leader of the war zone because he and his warlords who are in business of drugs want delay in peace processes. World community should focus on rule of law and democratic process and management system all over the Afghanistan fro reason that people of Afghanistan want peace with system.
Posted by: Abdul Aziz Mohmand | April 2, 2010, 2:30 pm 2:30 pm
If Obama paid more attention to the wars we are fighting and less time trying to socialize the US his administration would be in a better position to handle these problem’s
Posted by: Bob | April 2, 2010, 2:41 pm 2:41 pm
More fruit from Obama’s smart diplomacy tree?
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | April 2, 2010, 3:16 pm 3:16 pm
More fruit from Obama’s smart diplomacy tree?
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | Apr 2, 2010 3:16:41 PM
________________________________
No, it’s the President’s diplomacy in action – calling to task recipients of American financial and military support.
A far sight better than previous unquestioned American government support for dictators in Chile, San Salvador, Nicaragua, South Africa, Iraq, Iran and so on . . .
Posted by: tierra | April 2, 2010, 3:27 pm 3:27 pm
The Afghans just play along.. there is no winning.. they are trapped in the past and can’t get out.. time to quit wasting the lives of young americans.. cut bait.. leave some counterterrorism forces in the area and assault as we can.. I know many collaborators will die (US collaborators).. this is not winnable..
Posted by: DontGet818onMeNow | April 2, 2010, 3:43 pm 3:43 pm
Why should the Afgans have any more say in their elections than Americans have in theirs?
Remember 2000?
Posted by: Tom | April 2, 2010, 3:50 pm 3:50 pm
A far sight better than previous unquestioned American government support for dictators in Chile, San Salvador, Nicaragua, South Africa, Iraq, Iran and so on . . .
Posted by: tierra |
Yes we realize that it could suck worse but why don’t you compare it to successful diplomacy?
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | April 2, 2010, 4:18 pm 4:18 pm
“Yes we realize that it could suck worse but why don’t you compare it to successful diplomacy”
Like the new arms reduction treaty?
Posted by: Ryan c | April 2, 2010, 6:19 pm 6:19 pm
With all the back room deals and bribes that went on in our own congress I am suprised that Karzai is as restrained in his comments as he was. Why for the life of me does Obama keep stabbing our allies in the back, Karzai, Netanyahu,even Brittain hase turned away.
Posted by: earl | April 2, 2010, 6:34 pm 6:34 pm
“Yes we realize that it could suck worse but why don’t you compare it to successful diplomacy”
Like the new arms reduction treaty?
Posted by: Ryan c |
The arms reduction treaty that doesn’t require either side to actually destroy a warhead (just like the one W came up with which was roundly criticized by the Social Democrats) and can be canceled by Russia at any time and may or may not be linked to missile defense and yet still may be Obama’s biggest diplomatic success? Sure, compare that unratified treaty to the recent trip to Afghanistan.
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | April 2, 2010, 7:26 pm 7:26 pm
A far sight better than previous unquestioned American government support for dictators in Chile, San Salvador, Nicaragua, South Africa, Iraq, Iran and so on . . .
Posted by: tierra |
Yes we realize that it could suck worse but why don’t you compare it to successful diplomacy?
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | Apr 2, 2010 4:18:36 PM
_____________________________________
What the President is doing IS successful diplomacy – calling to task those receiving financial and other support from the U.S. as opposed to catering to dictators like the Republicans in the past.
Posted by: tierra | April 2, 2010, 8:39 pm 8:39 pm
Generally troubling — everything about the Obama administration…
Posted by: Quo Warranto | April 3, 2010, 12:02 am 12:02 am
Fine. Someone needs to tell Hamid, handpicked by Cheney/Rumsfeld, that his next check is going to Amiercans in flooded Rhode Island and that we’re pulling all troops out in 90 days. He can get his next bribe from Halliburton.
Posted by: B.Bear | April 3, 2010, 12:16 am 12:16 am
We should all be worried, the arrogance of the US has now turned up a notch to “personal arrogance” by our prez. Go read articles in the UK, French and German papers!
Posted by: nancy | April 3, 2010, 9:12 am 9:12 am
What the President is doing IS successful diplomacy – calling to task those receiving financial and other support from the U.S. …
Posted by: tierra |
Self-righteous scolding is not diplomacy. It doesn’t even work in the comments section of a blog.
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | April 3, 2010, 9:39 am 9:39 am
I’d never suggest that Karzai is without his own crimes, but it’s remarkable that Obama alienates foreign leaders so consistently.
One wonders what he says to them in private. Presumably he’s as arrogant towards them as he is towards the American people. Where they don’t react overtly, they proceed to snub him most brutally.
What was left of our foreign relations under Bush has now been shredded by Obama.
Posted by: James Galard | April 3, 2010, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm
Self-righteous scolding is not diplomacy. It doesn’t even work in the comments section of a blog.
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | Apr 3, 2010 9:39:41 AM
______________________________________
Sounds like self-righteous scolding to me. Can you say hypocrisy boys and girls?
Posted by: tierra | April 3, 2010, 1:55 pm 1:55 pm
What was left of our foreign relations under Bush has now been shredded by Obama.
Posted by: James Galard | Apr 3, 2010 12:49:48 PM
_____________________________________
I disagree. The President has raised the quality of the discourse to include a more direct approach to real issues.
Posted by: tierra | April 3, 2010, 1:58 pm 1:58 pm
These people are ungrateful people unworthy of the money and efforts spent to liberate them from clutches of extremists Talibans.Karzai became ruler and president of Afghanistan because of the sacrifices of Americans.Now he is trying to find fault with their actions when he is only being asked to put his own house in order
Posted by: meher | April 3, 2010, 2:46 pm 2:46 pm
One wonders what he says to them in private. Presumably he’s as arrogant towards them as he is towards the American people. Where they don’t react overtly, they proceed to snub him most brutally.
Posted by: James Galard |
Exactly.
Turns out there is a short supply of world leaders that want to be lectured to by the Obama administration.
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | April 3, 2010, 3:21 pm 3:21 pm
Who does this little dictator think he is Barrack Obama or something? He’s not even close to level that our dictator is. Obama just laughs at these little people. Kinda the same way Obama treats people that didn’t vote for him. Obama and This little thug are cut from the same cloth! Karzai knows that that’s why he did it.
Posted by: chance | April 3, 2010, 4:58 pm 4:58 pm
Simple. We pull out our troops and cut all aid. The Taliban will retake control of Afghanistan and remove Karzai. We can then return to 1999.
Posted by: Chip | April 3, 2010, 7:29 pm 7:29 pm
The core of US policies in Afghanistan has been to empower warlords and militias. Karzai waited and watched till he is totally surrounded by warlords and militias. As you know, Both of his vice presidents are militias and warlords. They were the reason the extremist Taliban was created. I don’t blame Karzai for going nuts. What do the US policy makers think? Warlords and Militias who betrayed their own country will stay faithful to US. You deal with evil you will get surprises.
Posted by: Masoud F | April 9, 2010, 12:22 am 12:22 am