Karzai and the Taliban

Fox News: Reports on the unease in the Obama White House with the threat from President Karzai of Afghanistan to jump ship and join the Taliban. The real worry for President Obama is the threat that President Karzai could ask the USA and NATO to leave Afghanistan NOW, that would be a political disaster. The West would have a stark choice, follow the request or remove President Karzai, those would be the only two options. One has to wonder does Karzai have the backbone to go that far, all these critical comments are based on the simple fact as stated that Karzai is fed up with the USA telling him how to run Afghanistan when it comes to domestic matters. Lets recall that Karzai has just won re-election, thus he does have a mandate, didn't see Obama get a mandate from the people of Afghanistan to tell them how run their own country. It can be postulated that all Karzai wants is to be seen as a ruler of his own country, in other words someone who Obama cant dismiss has to tell him to back off with his demands that Afghanistan become less corrupt, the USA is not in Afghanistan to make it the new Chicago, it in Afghanistan to kill the enemy, in this case Al Qaeda and the Taliban, thus the US needs Karzai, in many respects more that Karzai needs Obama. The US has to win the war first before it start to nation build in Afghanistan.

The Afghan Game - Election Fraud

Independent: Reports on the claims by President Karzai of Afghanistan that West was behind the fraud in the recent Afghan Presidential Election, the aim to weaken the Karzai Regime. It is not what President Karzai has said that is interesting but the context, why accuse the very people that are keeping him in power, that is simple, Karzai as an intelligent politician has made the guess that USA and NATO will leave Afghanistan within the next few years, Obama has stated that he plans a reduction of his recent surge in 2011, thus President Karzai has decided for his own political career and his life to keep his options open with moving from the protection of the West to make him look independent of the West, in Afghan politics that is a good and wise move, puppets don't last long in leading Afghanistan, go and ask the USSR, thus Karzai from his point view can jump ship if the War does not go well and join the other side with the argument that the West has betrayed the true leadership of the Afghanistan, the West wants less corruption, in Afghanistan corruption is the norm, it is like breathing, a Chicago pol like Obama should get that simple fact, how many Chicago politicians would survive an in depth look at their actions over the years, not many it can be argued, thus the same with Afghanistan. President Karzai is a clever politician, in some respects a lot better than Obama when it comes to Afghanistan.

Karzai and Diem = Afghanistan/South Vietnam

WSJ: Reports on the growing tensions between the Kabul Regime of President Karzai and the Obama White House. In essence Kabul is very much like political workings of Chicago, the home town of President Obama, corruption is the norm, and President Karzai does not like the fact that the Obama White House wants less corruption and more effective government in Afghanistan. The case has an historical example, Diem of South Vietnam also become an irritant to the Kennedy White House, thus the infamous August 1963 green light for the coup that lead to the death of Diem and the rolling in of the US Marines in 1965. In the modern case there is a major difference, Karzai has just been re-elected for a second term, corruption took place but it is agreed that Karzai would have won the second round, it just that the second round would have cost the lives of more NATO soldiers, for a victory that was guaranteed Also the Obama White House has green light two surges in Afghanistan since 2009, this is Obama's War, very much like Vietnam become LBJ's War. In stark truth Karzai is the only game in town, if Obama gets rids of President Karzai one way or another the war and the running of Afghanistan become one, thus more problems for Obama. The War in Afghanistan was the good war in the eyes of liberal Democrats, now that the death rate is going up the liberals in the Democratic Party are showing their usual yellow streak, but to give POTUS his due he has not backed off Afghanistan, thus his recent visit, as stated it wont be health care reform that brings down Obama it will be Afghanistan, Obama is the heir to LBJ.

Bad Poster - Labour Party

The UK General Election has not even started yet and the Labour Party has shot itself in the foot with this poster. The poster is shoots the Labour party in the foot by taking two 80s icons and giving the voter the impression that a return would be bad, thus the return to the 1980s is an attack on Lady Thatcher, ask the UK voter who would they want as PM, and this blog would postulate that a majority of voters would pick Lady Thatcher over Gordon Brown any day. In the UK there is a time travel cop drama, Ashes to Ashes, the lead male character is DCI Gene Hunt, not your PC type of copper, he is very popular, the character will have been around for five years at the end of the series. Thus one has to ask what is the Labour Party thinking about, well one can only think that they think that the UK voter is a Guardian Reader. They are not and on any given day are more interested in Page 3 and the footy results. The later 80s was an economic boom time, so what would be so bad is going back to the UK back on top and not bankrupt. Also with some of the low level crime we face in the UK today we all need DCI Hunt on the streets getting rid of armed bandits, not with conversation but with a thump and throwing them in the nick. Thus on this one Labour Party hole in the shoe, think outside the box if you want to keep your majority in the House of Commons.

UK General Election 2010

Its that time folks the UK General Election starts on Tuesday when the PM Gordon Brown of the Labour Party goes to Buckingham Palace to ask the HM The Queen for a dissolution of Parliament. This blog on the whole covers US politics, lets be honest its more fun, but this blog also loves elections. Thus expect a fair amount of coverage once the balloon goes up on Tuesday. As to who this blog is backing that is simple, this blog has and will always support the Conservative Party. One liked Tony Blair but he was a small c Conservative within the Labour party, one has no affection for the dour Scot that is PM Gordon Brown. This blog will take the Conservative stand but will try to be fair, it will look at the process and point out good and bad points within both the Tories and Labour strategy for the election. To give my readership a fair look at the start here are the homepages for the Conservative Party and Labour Party.