Hamid Karzai . . . Our Diem (where is George Santanaya when you need him)

[laststeamtrain]

Hamid Karzai . . . Our Diem
Posted by Michael Cohen

So apparently the White House has decided that instead of admitting Hamid Karzai is a poor ally and a lousy partner for a robust counter-insurgency operation . . . we're going to be nice to him:

"The Americans are pulling out all the stops for Mr. Karzai as part of a new charm offensive. Mrs. Clinton, one of the few people in the administration with a good rapport with him, has invited him for a stroll through the grounds of a private enclave in Georgetown. Richard C. Holbrooke, the special representative to the region, was dispatched to Andrews Air Force Base at 7 a.m. on Monday to personally greet Mr. Karzai. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will be Mr. Karzai’s host for a private dinner at the vice president’s mansion.

"And Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, the ambassador to Afghanistan, who personally escorted Mr. Karzai on the flight from Kabul to Washington, was sent off to assure reporters at the White House that he now had faith in the Afghan president’s determination to succeed, a position that stands in contrast to his diplomatic cable last fall denouncing Mr. Karzai as “not an adequate strategic partner.”

"The new warmth is oozing all the way to the Oval Office. President Obama, in an unusual show of hospitality and presidential attention toward a visiting foreign delegation, will be host to Mr. Karzai and others in his government for almost a full day at the White House, including a lunch on Wednesday followed by a rare joint news conference."

This reminded me of a passage I recently read in David Halberstam's "The Best and Brightest."...

<snip>

I'll tell you; where is George Santanaya when you need him.

<more>

http://www.democracyarsenal.org/2010/05/hamid-karzai-our-diem.html

[zipplewrath]

1. Deja Vu all over again

The last time we had a Democratic President like this, he didn't run for re-election.

[laststeamtrain]

2. & that president enjoyed a skosh more room in his Haggar slacks...

http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/prestapes/lbj_haggar.html

:hi:

[JohnWxy]

3. ah yes, what 8 years of neglecting the war on terrorists who attacked us has done.

If only they hadn't stopped the Delta Force who was 'on top of' OBL within a couple months of the WTC bombing.

[laststeamtrain]

4. The "war on terrorists who attacked us" should have been carried out against Germany...

& Spain & New Jersey (for the '93 attack) & South America & Antarctica & Tuva & Mars...

The 'stateless' thing is a little hard to get a hold of.

I'd have shed no tears to have seen a grainy, grisly photo of OBL DEAD DEAD & DEAD shortly after 911 if it meant no invasion of Iraq. But somehow it all got out of control. Hmm.