Posted on 10/04/2006 6:10:55 PM PDT by freedom44
A great man whose fall foretell the atrocities of 9/11. Were he alive, he'd definitley be PM of Afghanistan.
PM KArzai was a mamber of MAsood's Northern Alliance and IIRC is quite close to him.
Everything I ever saw about the man just oozed greatness.
Thanks,
I read up on him, and now every time I go out I wear a shemagh, hoping that folks will ask me why and I can say, "There was a great man, a good Muslim. We let him down."
I can remember hearing news reports about his assassination right after 9/11. What a great ally he would have been. Even though we were ignoring him at the time he was always attempting to get the U.S. on his side.
His legacy is probably also one of the reasons Karzai was such a popular choice to begin with.
bump
How is it that we ever could "keep" the fruits of freedom to ourselves? Freedom is a God-given gift, standing right there for any nation who wants it to take. Nobody "gave" America our freedom, we took it. America, for all the strength we have, cannot control the world or police all of its bad governments. If we follow that path it will stretch us so thin and cost us so much that we'll self destruct. Consider that it has cost us 1/2 trillion dollars just to kill a few thousand islamofacists. This is exactly how the Soviet Union imploded.
That said, it's necessary to defend any nation that is our ally, or that has some strategic value to us. But I'm not sure anymore that trying to 'democratize' the more barbaric islamofacist nations is a wise venture. Islam has shown itself throughout the ages to be a 'religion' that cannot be converted.
PM KArzai was a mamber of MAsood's Northern Alliance and IIRC is quite close to him.
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1634618.stm
Hamid Karzai is a highly influential figure and potentially commands the loyalty of large numbers of Afghans.
He is a powerful Pashtun tribal leader from the Taleban's political stronghold of Kandahar and a member of the same clan as the former Afghan king, Zahir Shah.
(snip)
___________________________
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_Karzai
(snip)
Relations with the Taliban
When the Taliban emerged onto the political scene in the 1990s, Karzai was initially among their supporters. However, as with many other early Taliban supporters, he broke with the Taliban, citing distrust of their links to Pakistan. After the Taliban drove Rabbani out of Kabul in 1996, Karzai refused to serve as their U.N. ambassador. In 1997, Karzai joined many of his family members in the United States, from where he worked to reinstate Zahir Shah. His father was assassinated, presumably by Taliban agents, on July 14, 1999, and Karzai swore revenge against the Taliban by working to help overthrow them.
Afghan Leader
In the months following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Karzai together with Mujahideen loyal to the Afghan Northern Alliance worked with the United States to overthrow the Taliban in Afghanistan and muster support for a new government. In December 2001, exiled Afghan political leaders - many with no followers inside Afghanistan - gathered in Bonn, Germany, to agree new leadership structures. Under the December 5 Bonn Agreement they formed an interim Transitional Administration and named Karzai Chairman of a 29-member governing committee.
(snip)
Thank you for highlighting my crapulent spelling. :)
BTW, is that a yes or a no to the alleged connections?
Masood was assasinated by Bin Laden operatives just days before 9/11. That was to stop him from being urged by the US to take out Bin Laden. Masood was the greatest danger to Bin Laden and with proper backup would have been sucessful. Unlikely Bin Laden would have escaped.
I'm confident that many have learned the lessons of Afghanistan
One reason the Taliban took over was after the soviets withdrew, so did we.
"Just let them kill each other" is a common cry.
What some people don't seem to understand is the world is a very small place and getting smaller every day. And groups like Al-Qaida thrive in the dark disconnected place of the world. that would be ok except they don't stay there.
I r gots muchly edumakasuns! :-)
PS That would be a no. Before 9-11 he didn't really have any connetiion with the northern alliance. They were for the most part Tajiks and he's a Pashtun.
I don't advocate over extending. What I am opposed to is outright isolationism and blatantly ignoring pleas for help. We can't commit in Sudan right now but the Pres. is doing all in his power to end the atrocities there, not just twiddling his thumbs like some would advocate.
What we accomplsihed in America was extraordinary. It is by no means a small feat that we gained independence. Once subjugated, people do not very often try to throw away their chains and history is littered with bloody and failed attempts to do so. How easily many urge them to fight and revolt yet little do people understand the true cost and sacrifice that must be offered to be free.
We can't simply sit back and let other nations and people rot. It is not only in the interest of humanity but also in the intererst of security to intervene where we need to when we can. To not do so is not only immoral, but suicidal. Because we left Afghanistan, 9/11 happened. Because Lebanon was left to fester, Hezbollah gained a foothold. Who knows what other schemes and atrocities are being planned in the dark recesses of the world where the media do not cover?
BTW, Masood and Karzai are Muslims. We have no reason to alienate friends and allies.
"I r gots muchly edumakasuns! :-)"
Duhr! Kollidge!
"PS That would be a no. Before 9-11 he didn't really have any connetiion with the northern alliance. They were for the most part Tajiks and he's a Pashtun."
Ok, thank you.
Agreed. See #15.
4th grade! I was going to try the 5th grade but then I got my draft notice....
The Looming Tower deals a bit with this. If you haven't got it, I highly recommend it. I really obsess on this kind of stuff and this is one of the best accounts that I've read. Lots of fact, heavily footnoted + the guy can write, it's a real page turner.
Funny. :)
Thanks for the reccommendation. Interesting looking book.
btt
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