US President Barack Obama is dissatisfied with the administration of Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The United States and its European allies want to appoint a prime minister to dilute some of Karzai’s singular power. They also believe that resources devoted to this country in the future should be channeled through the central government but flow out to the provinces as Afghanistan’s social, political, and economic structure has remained in shambles despite the aid streaming in from foreign governments and international non-government organizations.

Many US and European officials have expressed disappointment over the corruption and incompetence that they attach to the Karzai government. However, the West does not see any political alternative at the moment and believes that the president will again be re-elected soon by his compatriots. The West wants to at least review the powers of Karzai, something that will be addressed in the conference on Afghanistan scheduled for March 31 in The Hague.

A diplomat has expressed that if the West continues to support Karzai’s government, he will have to function properly and ensure that corruption decreases since levels of corruption are discerned to be frightening. Another diplomat said that after studying alternatives to Karzai, no one can be qualified either because there is no guarantee that whoever replaces him “would not be ten times worse.”

A former EU special representative in Kabul believes that the main problem is that Karzai “does not like to confront people or say things they do not want to hear.”

Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi, former finance minister and now political rival of Karzai, said the president lacks the capacity for critical thinking, does not prepare for meetings with the cabinet, and does not take a position.

Obama has admitted that military force alone would not end the war in Afghanistan, and suggested that an ‘exit strategy’ for the US could be part of a new policy that is expected to be revealed soon. This new approach would call for a greater emphasis on economic development in Afghanistan, strengthening of diplomacy with Pakistan, and seeking better coordination with international allies.

Earlier this year, the Pentagon strongly suggested stepping up offensives against the Taliban. This new approach may be in direct contrast to the recommendation of the US military intelligence.

Also earlier, Obama has declared that he wants to reach out to Taliban moderates, thereby stressing the tone of his foreign relations policy that takes a more diplomatic and conciliatory tone.

The alternatives are frightening. The US alone has approximately 34,000 troops positioned in Afghanistan. This staggering figure excludes the rest of the NATO forces deployed in the country. Obama, not veering away from the primordial reason why the US has mounted its military presence in Afghanistan, says, “Our number one priority is making sure that al-Qaeda cannot attack the US homeland, US interests, and our allies.” With a military exit from Afghanistan and in the light of the Taliban gaining ground in the country, this new approach may not ensure US homeland security from another radical Islamist attack, especially that the purported head of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, is said to be holed up in the hinterlands along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

The US keeps a controversial military installation in Afghanistan. The Bagram base is said to include one of the CIA secret prisons where ‘enemy combatants’ allegedly suffered torture in the guise of interrogation.

Via BBC