The EU And Afghanistan

While America is enthralled in the sexual behaviour of two of their top brass, little has been mentioned in the US press about the EU's cut in financial aid to Kabul.

The EU cites inefficiency - rather hypocritical when the same EU's books have never been signed off - and 'lack of progress in governance and justice system reforms'.

What did they expect?  Surely the evidence was plain to see?  The Afghanistan government are corrupt and have no intention of changing any of their systems because they know money will continue to fall into their hands.

The EU's cuts will not worry Mr Karzai and his pals, because although the planned $25m aid meant to reform the Afghan justice system has been postponed, the EU gave the go ahead to a new financing agreement allocating $76m for programmes of efficient governance and 'justice for all'. The EU member states have been financing special programmes for years and have already spent %1.5 billion on the country's development over the last decade.

You may remember in July this year donor nations held a conference in Toyko where they agreed to spend $16 billion through to 2015 to prevent Afghanistan sliding into chaos after foreign troops pulled out at the end of next year.

Will Karzai take need of the reasons for the postponement of this money when, although his country has had $25m postponed, they will be receiving a further $76 million?  Of course not. He will continue to blame the corruption on the foreign troops and tell the EU and US what they want to hear.  He is aware that there's a good chance that his government will fall apart once the NATO troops withdraw. As soon as they do there's little doubt Karzai, with some feeble excuse, will resign and speedily catch a plane to a country which will support his affluent lifestyle.

Shame on our politicians for pouring money into a country which will never change - because the people don't want change. When will the west waken up to that fact?

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The Karzia Brothers - A Must Read

left to right: Hamed Karzia, Ahmed Wali Karzia

Hamed Karzai is the head of Afghanistan's government. Ahmed Wali Kazai is the most powerful figure in a large area of southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency is strongest, and is said to be in the pay of the CIA. They are brothers.

The American ties to Mr Ahmed Karzai have created deep divisions within the Obama administration. The critics say the ties complicate American's increasingly tense relationship with President Hamid Karzai, who has struggled to build sustained popularity among Afghans and has long been portrayed by the Taliban as an American puppet.

More broadly, some American officials argue that the reliance on Ahmed Wali Karzai undermines the American push to develop an effective central government that can maintain law and order and eventually allow the US to withdraw.

The above is part of an article in today's New York Times and I suggest you may like to read the whole of it in order to see the big picture.

Now I can see the reason why Obama is stalling on the question of strategy in Afghanistan.

Our troops are out there fighting for their lives while America pays Ahmed Wali Karzai this mafialike individual who lords it over southern Afghanistan. The article also implies Karzai is involved in the drugs trade which of course he denies.

We should withdraw from that country and leave American to get on with their games. I do hope this reaches the MSM, then the support for this war will surely evaporate.

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