Karzai disses US, almost gets assassinated

Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Mon, 04/28/2008 - 04:10

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai strongly criticized the US and British conduct of the war April 25, insisting in an interview that his government be given the lead in policy decisions. He reiterated claims that Afghan villagers were bearing the brunt of US-led attacks, while the Taliban/al-Qaeda were actually based across the border in US ally Pakistan. (NYT, April 26) Two days later, Karzai narrowly escaped death when assailants opened fire on his entourage in an Afghan National Day parade, celebrating 16 years since the overthrow of the country's Soviet-backed rule. Three people were killed and some 10 injured in the attack. An MP and a 10-year-old child were among the dead, officials said. Some of the assailants have been arrested, according to authorities. (BBC, April 28; Press TV, Iran, April 27)

Are we paranoid to see a possible connection here...?

See our last post on Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: paranoia vindicated

Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Fri, 05/02/2008 - 02:10

From the NYT, April 29:

KABUL — President Hamid Karzai had been warned that an attack was being planned on a military parade Sunday, Afghanistan's intelligence chief told Parliament on Tuesday.

The head of the National Security Directorate, Amrullah Saleh, bowed his head before Parliament and said there had been negligence among the presidential guard and his own intelligence service and possible complicity among the police, which allowed the gunmen to fire at the parade stands from a hotel room, killing 3 people and wounding 11...

While the parliamentary session was under way, reports came in of a coordinated suicide bomb and gun attack in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday morning in which 19 people were killed and 41 wounded. Among the dead were 12 police officers and seven civilians, including the district administrator and police chief of Khogiani district, officials said.

Saleh, Defense Minister Rahim Wardak and Interior Minister Zarar Ahmad Muqbil narrowly escaped losing their jobs after the daylong session of Parliament, during which parliamentarians criticized them, the government, and even the president himself.