Embattled Karzai beams after
Bucharest By Haroun Mir
KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai
emanated self-confidence during his press
conference in Kabul following his participation in
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO)
April 3 meeting in Bucharest, where he had the
opportunity to meet with key NATO heads of state.
He is in dire need to improve his national
standing in the country and image abroad because
he has clearly signaled his intention to run in
the presidential election in 2009; he will want to
end his first term smoothly as the first elected
president of Afghanistan.
Karzai has been
under tremendous pressure from major NATO
countries. The accumulation of setbacks in NATO's
counter-insurgency and narcotics policies in
Afghanistan as well as in development projects
have transformed into political upset in
the
form
of severe criticism of the president, particularly
by the British media, tarnishing his domestic and
international position.
A series of
events, such as the public expulsion from
Afghanistan last December of British and Irish
diplomats accused of secret negotiations with the
Taliban, followed by Karzai's rejection of Paddy
Ashdown's appointment as the United Nations'
special representative to Afghanistan, has caused
growing irritation between Kabul and some Western
capitals.
Karzai has also become
frustrated by not being able to pacify and gain
the leadership of influential Pashtun tribes in
the greater Kandahar region. One reason he has
become critical of the British role in Afghanistan
is that British forces have alienated some of his
closest friends in Helmand province.
Thus,
his rejection of Ashdown was the consequence of
his anger against British secret dealings in the
province. In addition, he was afraid Ashdown would
interfere in his decisions at a time when he is
focused on re-election.
On the other hand,
the lack of progress in Afghanistan as a result of
a dysfunctional government has infuriated the NATO
members fighting in the country
As a
result, they have been revising their military
mission in Afghanistan. Eliminating al-Qaeda and
getting rid of the Taliban have become more
challenging compared with immediately after the
September 11, 2001, attacks on the US and the
invasion of Afghanistan that year. In addition,
the policy to eradicate poppy fields in
insurgency-infested territory, which served as a
political justification for Britain to send more
troops to Afghanistan, is another big
disappointment - 2007 saw a record harvest of
8,200 tons of opium.
Simply put, the
overall NATO mission has been reduced to
preventing Afghanistan from becoming a narco state
and sliding into total chaos.
Tensions
between Karzai and his political rivals are
growing fast in view of the presidential
elections, and his enemies in Afghanistan are
exploiting the end of his honeymoon with his
Western allies. The foes are doing their best to
undermine his leadership and further destabilize
the government.
For instance, in February,
General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a notorious warlord,
undermined the rule of law in Kabul by beating up
and humiliating one of his rivals who tried to
defy Dostum's leadership in the north. The
reaction of the government in Kabul was timid and
hesitant, which sent the wrong signal to other
recalcitrant and unruly warlords just waiting to
reclaim their lost influence.
NATO
countries recognize they have a very tough year in
front of them before Karzai's fate is decided.
They need to maintain cohesion in the face of
determined Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters this
spring and beyond. At the same time they have to
prevent political chaos before the presidential
election, which has become the only viable
benchmark for NATO's mission in the country.
A public show of support for the Afghan
president from key NATO members, especially the US
and Britain, is thus crucial for the stability of
Afghanistan. Indeed, Karzai''s legitimacy depends
less on the fact that he is an elected president
than on the unconditional support he has received
from the international community. Without this
support, many of his enemies will undermine his
authority.
This support, signs of which
emerged at the NATO summit, will also prove wrong
opportunist politicians in Afghanistan who
prematurely believe the Western allies have
already abandoned Karzai.
Haroun Mir served as
an aide to late Ahmad Shah Massoud, Afghanistan's
former defense minister. He is the co-founder and
deputy director of Afghanistan's Center for
Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS).
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