Hamid Karzai's “Job”

“President” Karzai of Afghanistan just released 65 putative Taliban terrorist prisoners from Bagram Air Base (who had been handed over to Afghan custody by the U.S. with the understanding that they wouldn't be freed- that's what they get for thinking Karzai's word is worth more than a bucket of warm spit). Here's his defense of this reckless action:

“It is my job as President to look after the interests of the Afghan people.” [BBC interview, February 13, 2013.]

So, it's in the “interests of the Afghan people” to unleash fanatical terrorists on them, huh? That's a rather debatable proposition, I'd say.

He also couched it in terms of Afghans' “human rights.” (His laissez-faire attitude towards crimes against women and children by “traditionalists” would warrant our skepticism of this claim- and demands that Karzai explicate his definition of “human rights.”)

Asked by the BBC as to ISAF's* motive in imprisoning innocent Afghans, he says “the only possible reason” is to make Afghans “hate the government” of Afghanistan, i.e. his own regime.

What a crazy allegation! How's that for gratitude for the billions shoveled into the maw of his corrupt regime, including regular delivery of satchels of cash by the CIA to Karzai personally, to hand out as bribes- from which he no doubt skimmed some for himself as a “carrying charge.” I see scant evidence of the West trying to undermine Karzai. Certainly they should have stopped supporting him many years ago. Obviously Karzai thinks by being “anti-American,” somehow he can ingratiate himself with the Taliban. Even the Taliban's murder of Karzai's last two top “peace” negotiators haven't disabused him of this delusion. I only hope he sticks around after the Taliban seize power again, if they do, and he ends up like one of his predecessors, ghoulishly castrated and hung by the sadistic gunmen empowered by the U.S., Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia to dominate Afghanistan since their joint anti-Soviet crusade.

The BBC said U.S. gave them a dossier for half the released prisoners, which claimed they were armed, or had explosives' residues, and so on. And many were seized within the last 6 months, not long-time prisoners as Karzai claims. One was a senior Taliban leader- says the U.S. Of course, it's fair to be skeptical of any U.S. claims about the matter. But I doubt that every single U.S. prisoner is innocent and the U.S. never captures any Taliban terrorists. Even Karzai said “most” of those he precipitously freed were innocent, not “all.”

But the U.S. is on shaky ground thanks to its own behavior over the years in its “War On Terrorism.”^TM

It has rounded up thousands of non-terrorists, many on payment of bounties, and imprisoned them for years without recourse by the victims or their families. It has institutionalized torture, and used the resulting “intelligence” as “proof” of its claims and even as “evidence” in its kangaroo-court “military tribunals.” Just last year the New York Times, no less, reported on the unearthing of bodies around a Special Forces base in Afghanistan, where torture and murder of prisoners is conducted. So the U.S. unfortunately is in a weak position to squawk (which hasn't stopped it from doing so anyway, of course) about Karzai's dismissal of the U.S.'s characterization of the released prisoners.

So basically both Karzai and the U.S. are immoral and untrustworthy. Pick your poison.

* The International Security Assistance Force, the umbrella for the U.S. and helpmate foreign military forces in Afghanistan.