Karzai threatens to join Taliban

CBCNEWS…Afghan President Hamid Karzai twice threatened to quit politics and join the Taliban if the West continued to pressure him to enact reforms, legislators said Monday.

Karzai issued the threat during a private meeting with Afghan lawmakers on the weekend. People at the meeting said they thought Karzai’s comments were aimed at hardline members of parliament.

The comment is the latest in a string of outbursts that have drawn criticism from foreign backers. Last week, Karzai accused the UN and the international community of carrying out a “vast fraud” as part of a plot to deny him re-election.

White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs called the latest Karzai remarks troubling.

“On behalf of the American people, we’re frustrated with the remarks,” he told reporters on Monday.

The comments came to light as Karzai paid a visit to the Kandahar City area south of Kabul. It was his first visit to the volatile south in almost 15 months.

Karzai criticized for violence

The Afghan president toured one community where dozens of residents died in an explosion several weeks ago. Local residents said they lived in constant fear and sharply criticized him for not doing enough to stop the violence.

Later, community leaders told Karzai they were worried about NATO’s planned spring offensive, when troops are expected to launch the largest operation in the eight-year-old war against the Taliban.

But Karzai told the local leaders there wouldn’t be an offensive.

“Our partners are here to help, but we run this country as Afghans,” Karzai said.

A U.S. general who was with Karzai at the meeting remained silent.

NATO forces are under intense pressure to minimize civilian casualties, because the deaths of innocents undermine Karzai’s precarious hold on power and boost support for the insurgency.

On Monday, NATO confirmed that international soldiers were responsible for the deaths of five civilians in February, including three women.

NATO also announced Monday that its soldiers killed 10 militants in an early morning raid on a compound near the Pakistani border. No civilians were harmed, the military organization said.

6 Replies to “Karzai threatens to join Taliban”

  1. Up until the 19th century, it was said that you could never trust a Muslim (OK so the term was at times Arab, Turk or Moor, but I digress).

    The common denominator is that they can practice deceit and turn on their allies like an abused pit-bull.

    As many have said, Islam is the problem.

    May the west prevail.

  2. Karzi is just playing hard ball trying to show his electorate he is in charge and not a puppet. As long as the money keeps flowing he will be a pal of Uncle Sam.

  3. You’re 100% correct Big Frank. Of course Hamid is not going to become a registered member of the Taliban at this time-that’s just silly. Political dealings with Mustlims nations are steeped in layers, nuances and subtleties. This, joining the Taliban thing is equal to zero, it’s just what Big Frank says it is.

  4. That’s it! Fron now om I’m writings dese tings on Word/., and utsing de spel cheq. I meant Muslim, not Mustlims.

  5. I predict Karzi will end up with the same fate as all but one of the Afghan rulers to date. A violent death at the hands of pissed off Afghans. It is in their nature. It is the default of their culture, empowered by Islam, and accelerated through the mental instability pervasive in this extremely consanguineous tribal nation.