One in three votes for Karzai fraudulent, says US diplomat

[bemildred]

Source: Guardian.UK

A former senior United Nations diplomat in Kabul has launched a scathing attack on the UN's handling of Afghanistan's disputed elections, claiming that almost one in three of the votes cast for president Hamid Karzai were fraudulent.

Writing in today's Washington Post, Peter Galbraith, the former deputy head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, singled out his former boss Kai Eide for criticism, saying that he had deliberately downplayed the level of cheating in an election where in one region "10 times as many votes were recorded as voters actually cast".

Galbraith, who was sacked last week after his disagreements with Eide about how to deal with electoral fraud became public, said the extraordinary level of fraud in the August vote "has handed the Taliban its greatest strategic victory in eight years of fighting the United States and its Afghan partners".

The election was a "foreseeable train wreck", he said, with Eide – the Norwegian diplomat in charge of the UN mission – standing idle as Afghan election authorities and ministers loyal to the president avoided taking steps that could have reduced massive fraud.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/04/afghanistan-elections-peter-galbraith-un

[dipsydoodle]

1. Sounds about right

.

[zonkers]

2. Aw heck, why shouldn't fraudulent votes counts. At least they show some enthusiasm, so

what if its wrapped up in deceit and corruption.

[mbperrin]

3. Mission Accomplished! GW said we would bring Murikan style

democracy there. Based on Florida and Ohio in 2000 and 2004, I'd say the entire Afghan operation is a huge success!

Time to go home! Put the troops on planes and get them back here now!

[cali]

4. The weakness and possible corruption here is evident.

They got rid of Galbraith and simply steam rollered over the evidence of massive fraud. Sickening.

[No Elephants]

5. Why stake does Norway or Eide personally have in Karzai and why does Eide get to dictate to the UN?

[Vidar]

6. And yet we continue to back him.

[EFerrari]

7. If the Obama administration expects Americans to die for Afghanistan

the least they could do is find someone who isn't obviously corrupt as hell.

[musical_soul]

8. Everybody, act surprised!

I would really like to get our troops out of there.

[SandWalker1984]

9. This war was about gas pipelines, not democracy or terrorism

A while back I came across an excellent book by Smedley Butler. Smedley Butler was a retired, much decorated, WWII general that wrote a small book titled "War is a Racket." He wrote it in the 1940's but his words still apply today.

You can read more here: http://www.wanttoknow.info/warisaracket

Mr. Butler claims almost all wars are waged for profit by businesses and millionaires (who are now billionaires). He said there are just 2 things we should fight for: (1) defense of our HOMES and (2) the Bill of Rights.

He also has suggestions on how to stop the racket.
"Well, it's a racket, all right. A few profit – and the many pay. But there is a way to stop it. You can't end it by disarmament conferences. You can't eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can't wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war."

THE ONLY WAY TO GET THEM TO STOP WAGING WAR IS TO TAKE THE PROFIT OUT OF IT.

Right now our military budget for 2009 is $651 Billion, not including the $150 Billion for the 2 wars waging in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military manufacturing is now 123% higher than in 2000 while the rest of manufacturing shrank 19%.

We are being fed the propaganda about a war on terror when the reality is Afghanistan is about control of gas pipelines and Iraq was waged by the PNAC (Project for a New American Century) gang that thinks they can control the world by controlling the mideast oil production.


We are facing the same problem with stopping these wars that we are facing in the health care debate -- the corporations, who now "own" and control our Congress & the White House (no matter which party is in office) are in control of all policy and legislation.

The only way I see to take back control is to push hard for campaign reform and make all campaigns for Congress & for the Presidental office PUBLICLY FUNDED. No private contributions, no PAC money, no RNC or DNC money. Until that changes, they will keep waging wars for profits and health care will continue to be about profits instead of health care.

Unless we take back our government from the control of these corporations, they will keep pushing wars & profits until our country's economy totally collapses and the dollar is destroyed.

[rmp yellow]

10. Our government is covering up the fraud

Hillary and Obama should press the UN to call for new elections.

[bertman]

11. Diem were the good ole days. Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, a catholic "elected"

as President of a buddhist country, ruled as a despot until assassinated in a coup planned by the CIA.

Karzai, the former Unocal Oil Company "consultant" had better watch his back. When he no longer serves the CIA's needs he'll be "deposed" too.

Vietnamistan, home of "fair and free elections" and defenders of democracy.


Edited for PPP: piss-poor punctuation

[EFerrari]

12. Galbraith was interviewed by Amy this morning:

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/5/fired_un_official_peter_galbraith_accuses

Audio, video, transcript at link. :)