Another column on national self-esteem and self-respect by Dr. A.Q Khan published in Jang Karachi which I hope will start another useful debate on how our leaders sold their souls to foreign powers without any shame for their acts.

His previous column ‘Ghairat Kahan Hai Tu’ really made people to think on our behavior and actions as a nation and the sort of leadership coming on our national scene.

What are you thankful for?

I’m thankful for the fact that this year, Muslims are given an opportunity to be way more thankful to Allah on this American holiday. It just so happens the 9th day of Dhul-Hijjah, referred to as the day of ‘Arafat, is the same day as Thanksgiving. It’s a blessed day where fasting is highly recommended.

Abu Qatadah reports the Prophet (may Allah’s Blessings and Peace be upon him) as saying:
“Fasting the Day of Arafat will be credited by Allah with forgiving one’s sins of the previous year and the coming year.”

I’m thankful to Allah for the enormous reward given for fasting on this day. Though, the irony of this year’s timing is quite hilarious, but also something to think about. My friend Abdullah, from Orlando, posted this interesting thought on Facebook:

So true.

A Muslim fasts in order to obey his/her Lord, and to appreciate what s/he has been given. It applies two very important concepts in Islam:

1. Sabr – the patience to deal with not eating or drinking from sunup to sundown, as well as refraining from vulgar speech, anger, and relations.

2. Shukr – thankfulness for the food, drink, and the other blessings that Allah bestowed on you.

The American way of celebrating is to cook a large meal (eating much of the day) for dinner where all the family comes together to eat. The Muslims stay away from even water all day, until the night when they can really “say grace” (i.e. Bismillah wa ‘ala barakatillah) and appreciate the meal before them (whether it’s large or small).

Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday with honorable values embedded in it such as thankfulness (obviously) and kinship.

But the truth is, who’s really going to be celebrating Thanksgiving correctly? The Americans, or the Muslims (from America and even in foreign countries).

Keep in mind that this day upon us is here to serve a purpose and send one message: Allah is Dhul-Jalali-wal-Ikraam (translated as the Lord of Majesty and Generosity).

One day. One message. Even though it technically is two different ‘holidays’.

Enjoy this day, and try to remember about turkey!

Of course, I meant to read about the glory days of the Muslim Ottoman Empire in Turkey!

and an early Eid Mubarak to you all.

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Remember the first time? President Obama just dropped something. Or rather, he was just so tall that he had to bend over to shake hands with the Saudi King. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a bow.

Yeah, right.

Karzai in visita a Shindand np©09

Da tempo si parla (a ragione) del fallimento del processo di ricostruzione dell’Afghanistan, mi sembra che invece sia sempre più prioritaria la necessità di ricostruire Hamid Karzai. Il presidente che oggi si è insediato ed ha giurato per il suo secondo quinquennio esce da queste elezioni, a voler essere buoni, semplicemente a pezzi. Per colpa sua ma anche per colpa di alleati americani che sempre più non sanno dove mettere le mani per uscire dalla “tomba degli imperi”, uno dei simpatici soprannomi dati negli anni all’Afghanistan ed ultimamente più popolare con la stampa Usa.

E’ vero che partiva praticamente da sotto-zero, ma karzai in otto anni non ha saputo ricostruire l’Afghanistan salvo ridare al quel poco che di Stato è riemerso l’assetto burocratico che è l’ideale per far fiorire la corruzione. L’economia di guerra e dopo guerra è servita ad alimentare le finanze personali di persone spesso poco raccomandabili e riconducibili al circuito dei signori della guerra. E’ anche colpa del suo modo di governare (o meglio degli apparati attraverso i quali è presente sul territorio) se i talebani hanno conquistato consenso e popolarità tra una popolazione frustrata. Con i brogli senza pudore delle elezioni, poi, Karzai ha dimostrato che il suo apparato elettorale era all’altezza dei pessimi alleati che si è scelto a cominciare dal suo vicepresidente.

Con Karzai a Shindand np©08

C’è però da dire che Karzai, in questo momento, è l’unico presidente possibile per l’Afghanistan. Lo hanno dimostrato le stesse elezioni, che hanno visto il Dr. Abdullah letteralmente dileguarsi al secondo turno, tra mancanza di soldi e mancanza di speranze di farcela (tralascio le difficoltà attuali del dottore che rifiutato l’accordo con il presidente è ora assediato dai suoi, affamati di “poltrone”).
Karzai è l’unico presidente possibile anche perchè è un pasthù, etnia che già di per se si sente trascurata (ed in parte è vero) nell’Afghanistan democratico, etnia cruciale per gli equilibri del paese e dalle cui fila al momento non arrivano altre alternative (in futuro il tecnocrate Ghanì? la passionaria-moderata Barakzai? troppo presto per dirlo).

E allora viene da chiedersi perchè la stampa americana da mesi sta massacrando Karzai avvalendosi di fonti ufficiali? Dal tema della corruzione clanico-familiare per finire al fratello Walì (presunto gran-trafficante di droga secondo certe fonti Usa e stipendiato dalla Cia secondo altre)? Perchè l’inviato speciale di Obama, Richard Holbroke, ormai a Kabul praticamente non può più mettere piede (dopo aver terminato un paio di pranzi con Karzai a “piatti in faccia”) tanto da essere riuscito nel miracolo – modello Lazzaro – di riesumare il senatore Kerry e ridargli un ruolo politico internazionale? Insomma non sto mica difendendo l’indifendibile Karzai, mi chiedo solo perchè se a Karzai non c’è alternativa (e non mi sembra nemmeno che gli Usa abbiano lavorato per aiutare Abdullah, il quale si è appoggiato – pare – ad iraniani, cinesi e russi) l’immagine del presidente sia stata demolita in questo modo.

Se gli Usa sapevano di non avere realisticamente alternative (del resto l’hanno ricandidato, vedi il dibattito a Washington dei primi mesi di quest’anno riportato in parte su questo blog) e non hanno lavorato per favorire l’alternativa Abdullah, spuntata fuori a sorpresa durante la campagna, che senso ha demolire la credibilità del partner con il quale lavorerai nei prossimi cinque anni?
Beh, la risposta non ce l’ho…mi viene da pensare che gli Stati Uniti siano in totale confusione sull’Afghanistan con Obama sospeso tra il moderato e minimalista (in termini militari) Biden e il falco Clinton (che forse vuole far dimenticare le omissioni afghane del marito negli anni ‘90). Del resto è la stessa risposta che sorge spontanea se si guarda alle fughe di notizie sul dibattito interno alla Casa Bianca sull’aumento delle truppe su cui stiamo assistendo ad una sorta di tutto il calcio minuto per minuto, nel senso che si sa pure quando uno dei partecipanti al “dibattito” si allontana per soffiarsi il naso. Ne viene fuori il ritratto di un’amministrazione tanto nel pallone da non riuscire nemmeno a mantenere segreto il rapporto (segreto) del generale McCrhrystal al presidente. Tanto da far dire, ieri, ad Obama che tutta questa storia delle fughe di notizie lo rende furioso…Non è abbastanza ma magari è un buon inizio.

King Abdullah greeted Mr. Sarkozy at airport, and both men headed to king’s farm outside Riyadh… From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: flight information. The blog is also related to: travel insurance.

King Abdullah greeted Mr. Sarkozy at airport, and both men headed to king’s farm outside Riyadh… From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: farm. For a different topic see here. The blog is also related to: farm.

There’s a scene in the movie Crocodile Dundee that reminds me of the current Obama fiasco (there’s ALWAYS an Obama fiasco, but this is the fiasco of the hour).  Mick “Crocodile” Dundee visits New York and is confronted by a mugger with a switchblade.  His gal-pal, Sue, says, “Mick, give him your wallet!”  And Dundee says, “What for?”  Sue, looking at the switchblade, says, “He’s got a knife.”  An amused Crocodile Dundee says, “That’s not a knife,” as he draws this gigantic Bowie knife that dwarfs the trivial-by-comparison switchblade.  “This is a knife.”  The mugger runs away.

ABC reporter Jake Tapper tries to put Obama’s bow into “perspective” by pointing out that Richard Nixon had at least sort of bowed in 1971.

But let’s apply what we just learned from Crocodile Dundee.

That’s not a bow.

Apparently, Bill Clinton did something that wasn’t quite a bow, either.

But about what Obama just did on his Asia tour (while he runs away from his decision to send the troops his general requested for Afghanistan, while he runs away from the latest unemployment report of 10.2%, runs away from his inability to label the Fort Hood massacre as a terrorist attack)?  Well….

THIS is a bow.

And it’s not just a bow.  It is a grovel.  It’s the profoundly disturbing and disgusting genuflection of a man who clearly has no business representing a people who drove away kings by force of arms bowing down low before his betters.

It’s an insult to everything America stands for.

ABC’s Jake Tapper put it this way:

“The bow as he performed did not just display weakness in Red State terms, but evoked weakness in Japanese terms….The last thing the Japanese want or need is a weak looking American president and, again, in all ways, he unintentionally played that part.”

Just like this prior contemptible event, in which Obama groveled before the Saudi king:

Mind you, Obama did not merely cravenly grovel before King Abdullah (making America grovel before Saudi Arabia by proxy), he cravenly lied to the American people about cravenly bowing down before the king of Saudi Arabia.

You’d think he would have learned his lesson, but grovelling just seems too deeply ingrained into his psyche.  He just can’t help himself.  It’d part of his unfortunate condition of statolatry.

Obama’s “Disgrace America Tour” is kind of like the Rolling Stones — it just keeps going on and on and on and on.

Obama doesn’t have to grovel before Nancy Pelosi — as long as he lets her have complete control over “his” healthcare agenda.

Here’s a picture of Vice President Cheney offering his respects to the Japanese emperor.

Ah, thank God for an actual grown-up who actually understands that American leaders do not grovel before foreign ones.

I’m betting that “inexperienced” Sarah Palin wouldn’t have groveled before the emperor, either.  Apparently, bowing and groveling is something that they teach at Harvard.

You know what I wonder?  I wonder if FDR or Harry Truman, who defeated Imperial Japan at the great cost of 100,000 American lives following their vicious attack against Pearl Harbor, would have bowed down before the Japanese emperor?

Just wondering.

Karzai’s Fortuitous Flu Bug

As the election run-off between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah approached, tensions were running high, particularly among Abdullah’s Tajik supporters, who thought the election process was fatally flawed. There was widespread talk of anti-government protests—even among the Afghan population opposed to the Taliban.

When Abdullah withdraw from the run-off in early November, saying the process was corrupt, he urged his followers not to take action. But Abdullah thought mistrust could further alienate the disenchanted populace from the Kabul government. Abdullah told Stars and Stripes, “Anything can happen. The reason for the fragility is mainly because the government is not trusted.”

But in the days prior to the cancellation, the Karzai government had already hobbled the protest movement. The day before Abdullah withdrew, the government declared an HINI flu emergency in parts of the country, including Panjshir Province, the fierce Tajik region that has been a hotbed of support for Abdullah. With the run-off looming, the government declared mosques, schools and universities—the traditional gathering places for politically minded Afghans—to be closed for three weeks.

Though Ahmed Abdul Rahman, the UN World Health Organization officer-in-charge in Afghanistan declared the order to be “appropriate and timely,” there was widespread cynicism about the timing. The country had 320 HINI cases by November 3, with two fatalities tied to the disease. An Afghan member of parliament, Kabir Ranjbar, told the IRIN news agency, “The disease was not widespread and cannot justify a state of emergency in which the entire education system is closed.”

She was born in the year 68 BH to Khuwaylid b. Asad and Faatimah bint. Za’idah. She was raised on praiseworthy characteristics and was well-known and praised for her intelligence, chastity, and prudence until people began to call her “Taahirah” or “the pure one.” She was a successful businesswoman, who achieved her wealth through hiring men to take it on merchant trips to sell. She was first married to Abu Halah b. Zurarah of the Banu Tameem and was the mother of two sons, one of whom died at the Battle of al-Jamal, fighting on the side of ‘Ali.

It reached her that the Messenger of Allah(S) was known for his truthfulness and generosity. One day Abu Taalib said to his nephew: “I am a man without wealth, and times have become tough on us, and these disagreeable years harass us, and we have neither material possessions nor merchandise, and this [woman] Khadeejah sends men from among your people to do business with her wealth and they gain profit. So if she comes to you, convey to her your honesty.

So Khadeejah sent for him and proposed that he go with her wealth to ash-Sham as a merchant. In return, she would give him more than she used to give to the other traders. She would also send with him a young servant of her’s called Maysarah. So the Messenger of Allah(S) accepted that and went with her wealth and her servant Maysarah until he reached the foot of ash-Shaam. So he sold his commodoties which he had left with and bought what he desired [to buy on Khadeejah's behalf. Then he, along with Maysarah, embarked to Makkah with a caravan. So his trading gained twice as much profit as what was usually gained. So the Messenger(S)'s wages were double what was usually given.

And when the servant Maysarah told her about what he saw of the character of Muhammad(S), she sent for him(S). Then she said to him: "O cousin, indeed, I like in you our blood relationship and the undoubted nobility of your descent, your trustworthiness and sincerity, as well as the integrity of your character and the truthfulness of your speech." Then she suggested marriage to him. So the Messenger of Allah(S) mentioned that to his uncles. So Hamzah(R) went with him until they called upon Khuwaylid, who said: "He is the stallion whose nose cannot be touched (i.e. He is strong)." So the Messenger of Allah(S) married her and gave her 20 camels as a dowry. She was 40 years old when she married the Messenger of Allah(S), and he was 25 years old. She was the first lady that the Messenger of Allah(S) married, and he never married anyone else as long as he was married to her until she died. She gave him 6 children: Al-Qaasim, 'Abdullah, Zaynab(R), Ruqayyah(R), Um Kulthoom(R), and Faatimah(R).

And when the Prophet(S) received prophethood, she was the first to believe in Allah and His Messenger Muhammad(S); she was the first to believe in what His Lord sent him and strengthened him in his affairs. So the Prophet(S) used not to hear anything from the polytheists that he hated to hear and of disbelief in him except that Allah comforted him through Khadeejah(R), who stood by him and the da'wah and she used to lessen his grief over what he used see from his people.

Narrated 'Aisha(R), the mother of the faithful believers: The commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Apostle was in the form of good dreams which came true like bright day light, and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him. He used to go in seclusion in the cave of Hira where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him the journey food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadeejah(R) to take his food like-wise again till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, "I do not know how to read."

The Prophet added, "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more." He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, "I do not know how to read." Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, "I do not know how to read." Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said, {Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists), has created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.} Then Allah's Messenger(S) returned with the Inspiration and with his heart beating severely. Then he went to Khadeejah(R) bint Khuwaylid and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him till his fear was over, and after that he told her everything that had happened and said, "I fear that something may happen to me." Khadeejah(R) replied, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your Kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones."

Khadeejah(R) then accompanied him to her cousin Waraqah b. Nawfal b. Asad b. 'Abdul-'Uzza, who, during the Pre-Islamic Period became a Christian and used to write the writing with Hebrew letters. He would write from the Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost his eyesight. Khadeejah(R) said to Waraqah, "Listen to the story of your nephew, O my cousin!" Waraqah asked, "O my nephew! What have you seen?" Allah's Apostle described whatever he had seen. Waraqah said, "This is the same one who keeps the secrets (angel Gabriel) whom Allah had sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live up to the time when your people would turn you out." Allah's Apostle asked, "Will they drive me out?" Waraqah replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone (man) who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you strongly." But after a few days Waraqa died, and the Divine Revelation was also paused for a while.

The Messenger of Allah(S) and Khadeejah(R) continued to pray in secret as long as Allah willed. 'Afeef Al-Kanadee reported: "I came to Makkah during the Days of Ignorance, and I wanted to sell on behalf of my family some clothes and perfume. I went to Al-'Abbaas b. 'Abdul-Muttalib." He said: "While I was at his house, I looked at the Ka'bah. The sun came out, when a young man came until he was close to the Ka'bah. Then he raised his head toward the sky and faced the Ka'bah while standing. Then a youth came and stood on his right. It did not take long before a woman came and stood behind them. Then the young man bowed. Then the youth and the woman bowed. Then the young man raised his head, and the youth and the woman raised their heads. Then the young man prostrated himself, and the youth and the woman prostrated themselves."

He said: "So I said: 'O 'Abbaas! Indeed, I see a great man." Then Al-'Abbaas(R) said: "A great matter. Do you know who this young man is?" I said: "No, I don't know." He said: "This is Muhammad b. 'Abdullah b. 'Abdul-Muttalib, my nephew. Do you know who this [woman] is?” I said: “I don’t know.” He said: “This is Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, the wife of this nephew of mine. This nephew of mine who you see has reported to us that his Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and that He has ordered him to this religion that he is following. I swear by Allah that I do not know of anyone else on earth who is following this religion other than those three.” ‘Afeef said: “I wanted to be the fourth one of them.”

And the Messenger of Allah(S) used to honor her and cherish her. And he used not to disagree with her before he received revelation. Then he used to remember her a lot after her death, and he didn’t get tired of praising her, until ‘Aishah(R), the Mother of the Believers, got jealous, and said to the Prophet(S): “Verily, Allah has given you better than that old woman.” The Prophet(S) became angry and said: “No, by Allah, I swear that Allah has never given me better than her. She was the wife who believed in me when everyone else disbelieved in me. She affirmed my truthfulness when everyone else accused me of lying. She supported me with her money when everyone else deprived me. And Allah provided me with children through her when no other woman has given me chilren.” In fact, the Prophet(S) became so angry at what I said until his forehead trembled. So I said to myself: “O Allah, if the Messenger of Allah(S)’s anger abates, I will never again say anything like I said.”
And ‘Aishah(R) also said: “I was never jealous of any of the other wives of the Prophet(S) like I was jealous of Khadeejah(R). And I have not seen her, but the Prophet(S) used to remember her a lot. Sometimes, he would sacrifice a sheep, then cut its limbs and send them to Khadeejah(R)’s friends. So sometimes, I said to him: “It is as if there were no other woman in the world other than Khadeejah(R).” So he would say: “How can I forget her? She also gave me children most loving.” ‘Aishah(R) also said: “The Messenger of Allah(S) almost used not to leave the house before he would mention Khadeejah and praise her.
Khadeejah(R), the Mother of the Believers, died helping the Messenger of Allah(S) in conveying the call to Islam. She died three years before the migration to Madeenah at the age of sixty five. The Prophet(S) then buried her with his own hands.

Source: The Muslim weekly

“Un security approved” e’ la scritta che compare sulle brochure delle migliori guest house e dei principali alberghi di Kabul, la lista dei posti dove poter alloggiare ”rispondenti agli standard di sicurezza Onu” viene aggiornata ogni mese e resa pubblica. In questi giorni suona come un altro degli amari paradossi afghani. Le Nazioni Uniti si apprestano a rimpatriare o rilocalizzare (pare a Dubai) buona parte del proprio staff internazionale, circa 600 unita’ su 1100-1200 funzionari. In totale sono quasi 6000 gli operatori Onu in Afghanistan, in buona parte locali. Una decisione presa proprio di fronte al peggiorare delle condizioni di sicurezza nel Paese ma soprattutto dopo l’attacco taleba alla guest house dove c’erano diversi membri dello staff internazionale, cinque dei quali sono stati uccisi (tra le altre vittime). In pratica l’Onu, con la decisione di ieri, sta dichiarando di non essere in condizioni di garantire la sicurezza del proprio personale. Del resto che la situazione, con queste due fiammate elettorali, sia peggiorata l’ho capito notando come la casa del Dr. Abdullah sia stata circondata da t-wall (ovvero muri anti esplosione prefabbricati) e l’ex-sfidante di Karzai ormai anche in casa sua si faccia seguire da un panshiro alto due metri.

Alloggiare a Kabul per gli “internazionali” sta diventando sempre piu’ un problema, gli standard onu si sono ridotti ad una barzelletta e quindi non sono piu’ una guida utile o meglio sono solo un riferimento di massima, altri posti come l’hotel Serena (il principale albergo della capitale) sono obiettivi per definizione e quindi e’ il caso di evitarli (nonostante – devo dire – siano estremamente confortevoli visto il contesto). In realta’ non esiste una scelta ideale, di questi tempi, bisogna cercare un compromesso. Questa volta, per esempio, ho deciso di dormire nella guest house che ospita il punto di riversamento satellitare che usiamo per le dirette e l’invio di servizi in Italia. Ho preferito evitare di dover attraversare mezza citta’ alle tre di notte (colpa del fuso orario!) come capitato ad agosto e settembre per poter raggiungere il satellite dal mio albergo. Il rischio di sequestri di occidentali si e’ innalzato troppo negli ultimi tempi.
La mia guest house e’ quindi una buona soluzione se non fosse che ospita anche un top target, ovvero l’ufficio di corrispondenza di una grande tv americana. Compromessi appunto, compromessi tra il rischio di essere sequestrati di notte e quello di vedere i talebani attaccare un network americano. Questa guest house non e’ gestita da locali ma da un gruppo di security contractor, chiamateli mercenari o guardie private se volete (il dibattito e’ ancora aperto). Devo dire che normalmente non mi sono simpatici ma questi hanno il grande merito di non farsi vedere armati anche quando vanno in bagno e non di portare fucili d’assalto con lanciagranate a colazione, mi sembrano piu’ concentrati sul versante “intelligence”, anche in senso letterale.

Al mio arrivo mi hanno consegnato il modulo di registrazione degli ospiti, il piu’ strano che abbia mai visto. Dopo i dati anagrafici e quelli del passaporto, c’era la sezione sui segni di riconoscimento (tatuaggi, cicatrici) con notizie sanitarie varie…a concludere la sezione “proof of identity” le domande chiave da usare in caso di sequestro per dare ai negoziatori la prova che al telefono stiano parlando proprio con te. Il cocktail di benvenuto non era compreso nel prezzo ma gli ospiti della guest house sono simpatici, giornalisti e tecnici anglo-americani, mentre tanti europei arrivano a riversare i propri pezzi al satellitare; almeno cosi’ ci si ride un po’ sopra.

Down One Pants Size

This Week I was on a Diet that Dr. Abdullah Al Mutawa Gives out ….

I didnt screw up at all… I did skip a few things here and there but i never added anything…..

I Climbed the Stairs ….. I Parked Farther than usual…. and The results are in……

I Got Second Place AGAIN!!!!   

This Week However I only Lost 1.1 Kilos

Duuu… jangan kambuh dong..

Setelah berhasrat kuat untuk mulai menulis dibulan Oktober 2009 untuk menghidupkan “Blog” ku, setelah bertugas dari kantor ke Riau pekan lalu kok jadi malas untuk bernulis ria kembali..

Padahal cukup banyak hal yang bisa diceritakan rentang waktu seminggu di Riau khususnya di Bagan Batu dan Pekan Baru…

Hmmm penyakit malas menghinggap.. menghampir… up..up… hus..hus.. jauh.. menjauhlah. Kau…. Yeeeaaaaaaa…. start for writing a new story from me.. Especially the journey of Riau last week.. I’ll be Right Back…sure will be back soon… not after this adds…

Karzai, rieletto dopo l’annullamento ieri di un inutile ballottaggio, ha ricevuto ammonimenti dal presidente Usa Barack Obama, dal primo ministro Gordon Brown e da altri in Occidente che gli hanno chiesto di lavorare duramente per estirpare la corruzione che ha avvelenato la sua precedente amministrazione.

Il ballottaggio, innescato dalle accuse di frode durante il primo round di elezioni ad agosto, è stato cancellato dopo che l’unico rivale di Karzai, l’ex-ministro degli Esteri Abdullah Abdullah, si è ritirato esprimendo timori sulla regolarità del voto.

Ha Escluso pertanto di poterne far parte: “Non ho alcun interesse per il futuro del governo Karzai e seguirò il mio programma, che è il cambiamento “, ha affermato.

La decisione di lunedì è arrivata dopo settimane di incertezza politica, mentre Obama valuta l’opportunità di inviare fino a 40.000 altri soldati per combattere i talebani, che hanno minacciato di disturbare le elezioni e hanno definito il ritorno di Karzai una farsa.

Fonte:
http://it.reuters.com/article/topNews/idITMIE5A306420091104

So, as expected, Karzai has been “reinstalled” as president of Afghanistan, despite the fact that there has been no election, and despite the fact that he was caught trying to rig the election that was supposed to have taken place.

The main opposition candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, decided not to run again, citing, as his reason, the fact that the officials who rigged the first election had not been sacked, and would also be in charge of the second election.
This explanation strains credibility, as the second round would have come under close scrutiny from UN monitors, and there was a better than reasonable chance that Abdullah would have won (he had almost half the votes after Karzai’s known fraudulent votes had been discounted). A far more likely explanation is that Mr Abdullah was “persuaded” by the US government via the CIA to step aside, with bribes, threats, or – more likely – a combination of both (probably something along the lines of: “If you resign from the election we’ll give you a squillion dollars and a powerful position in the next government. If you don’t resign, something bad might happen to you and your family”). Whatever it was, it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

And so now the US’s puppet government in Afghanistan has been saved from the pernicious threat of democracy, and all those lucrative oil contracts are, for the time being at least, secure. American and British soldiers are now fighting in Afghanistan to protect a one-party state.

Oh, and “Honest Joe” Obama has proved beyond any doubt that he is as corrupt as any previous US president.

Alors qu’un second tour pour l’élection présidentielle afghane était prévu le 7 novembre (lire l’info du jour jour du 20 octobre 2009), Abdullah Abdullad, le rival du président sortant Hamid Karzaï, a renoncé à y participer hier dimanche 1er novembre. En conséquence, le second tour de l’élection présidentielle a été annulé et Hamid Karzaï déclaré vainqueur.

Abdullah Abdullah a dit qu’il se retirait car les risques de fraude étaient trop grands. L’ancien ministre des affaires étrangères réclamait notamment la démission du chef de la Commission électorale, qu’il jugeait partial, ce qui a été refusé par Hamid Karzaï. Le second tour avait déjà été organisé à la suite d’un recomptage des voix du 1er tour (le 20 août) et un constat d’irrégularités. Après recomptage, Hamid Karzaï avait recueilli 49,67 % des voix et son rival Abdullah Abdullah 30,59 %.

Abdullah Abdullah a exclu de faire partie du gouvernement qu’Hamid Karzaï s’apprête à former.

Références
Dépêches
LeMonde.fr avec AFP et Reuters
AFP sur La Croix
LeFigaro.fr avec agences

Articles
NYT : ” Karzai Gets New Term as Afghan Runoff Is Scrapped “
WSJ : ” Afghanistan’s Runoff Vote Canceled, Karzai Declared Victor “
BBC : ” Karzai declared elected president “
LeJDD.fr  ” Karzaï président malgré tout “
LeJDD.fr : ” Afghanistan: Abdullah renonce “

The fraud of Obama on Afganistan expands, as he deems a corrupt election as legitimate.

Karzai declared elected president

The first round of the vote in August was marred by mass fraud

Hamid Karzai has been declared the elected president of Afghanistan by poll officials, after they scrapped the planned second round of the vote.

The Independent Election Commission announcement comes a day after Mr Karzai’s sole challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of the race.

Dr Abdullah, who had demanded key poll officials quit, said he did not think it would be a free and fair vote.

Of course it wouldn’t have been a fair vote. Abdullah was scammed by a corrupt Karzai government, and Obama used the disputed election as an excuse for delaying announcement of his decision on increasing troop levels in Afghanistan. Now, Adbullah says that none of thieves who stole the election have been removed, so the results of the runoff would be no better than those of the first election, and Obama celebrates the election results as Democracy in Action!

The first round of the vote, in August, was marred by mass electoral fraud.

“We declare Hamid Karzai, which [sic] got the majority of votes in the first round and [since] he is the only candidate for the second round… be declared as elected president of Afghanistan,” said a spokesman for the Independent Election Commission in Monday’s news conference.

But David Axelrod, the guy who runs the U.S. government, said on Face the Nation yesterday that we can breathe a sigh of relief and move forward with the Karzai government as legitimate.

“What the president said was he wanted there to be an election that proceeded in the constitutional way. It did. In fact, many ballots were thrown out, a run-off was called.

Now Mr. Abdullah has exercised his rights as a candidate to withdraw. He has made a political decision to withdraw from this contest. And that doesn’t markedly change the situation.”

Huh? He’s made a political decision? How about he’s bailed because the corruption is too thick to cut.

He said the second round on 7 November was being scrapped to save money, and to prevent further setbacks which could damage Afghanistan politically and economically… One of the reasons for holding a deciding vote had been to try to restore some legitimacy to the election after the discredited first round.

How’s that democracy working out, Afghanistan?

In what seems to be some sort of sick joke, first-rate thug Hamid Karzai now appears to be the winner of the Presidency of Afghanistan by default, after his only opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of the run-off.  This, after the U.N. found that the previous election that Karzai “won” was plagued by rampant fraud that makes early twentieth-century Chicago politics look like a game of Candy Land.  Under intense pressure from the Obama Administration and the international community, Karzai benevolently agreed to a run-off (thus proving his commitment to democracy, according to many observers) but would not agree to the removal of Afghanistan’s “independent” election commissioner.  Therefore, as anyone with any grain of common sense can see, the run-off is bound to be eerily similar to the original election, with widespread fraud and abuse of power by electoral machinery.  So Abdullah did what any self-respecting man would do and walked away.  According to reports, Karzai would not even agree to a decent power-sharing method that might incorporate Abdullah in the administration, leading Abdullah not to concede but to simply walk away from the process completely.

In the midst of this fraudulent mess, how is anybody supposed to believe, even for a second, that this Presidency is legitimate?  And, more importantly, if the Afghan people do not see their government as legitimate, how can President Obama possibly justify sending even more U.S. troops to fight on its behalf?

The blogger, Kristofer Paul, can be reached at bottomleftpolitics@yahoo.com.

Breaking News from CNN

Hamid Karzai has been declared the old and new President of Afghanistan, after Abdullah has redrawn his candidacy for the run-off elections.

So now the corruption and voter fraud can go on. IMHO it’s time to leave, they’re beyond help.

Come era facile prevedere (vedi qui e altri post di questo blog) il ballottaggio per l’elezione del presidente dell’Afghanistan non si terrà o se mai si dovesse svolgere non sarà che un proforma. Diventato quest’estate, a sorpresa, l’avversario più quotato del presidente Karzai, arrivato al secondo turno grazie alla revisione del voto che – durata più o meno due mesi – ha tolto a Karzai causa brogli oltre 5 punti percentuale, il Dr. Abdullah questa mattina si è ritirato dalla competizione. Nei giorni scorsi aveva chiesto la rimozione dei funzionari coinvolti nei brogli oltre al presidente della commissione elettorale. Non ritiene che ci siano le condizioni per un processo elettorale affidabile.

In realtà tecnicamente Abdullah non può ritirarsi nè ha chiesto ai suoi sotenitori di boicottare il voto ma la sua uscita di oggi ha un forte valore politico perchè toglie a Karzai la possibilità di riaccreditarsi politicamente. In particolare gli americani hanno voluto il ballottaggio affinchè Karzai ne potesse uscire rilegittimato dopo i brogli estivi che hanno minato un presidente già a corto di autorità ed autorevolezza. Un ballottaggio che tutti sapevano non si sarebbe svolto ma – si ipotizzava – grazie ad un accordo di coabitazione al potere tra i due, dando così spazio al nuovo (Abdullah) e ad i suoi tagiki ma garantendo una continuità più credibile a Karzai e ad i suoi pashtun. Od almeno a questo avrebbe lavorato, dietro le quinte, la macchina della diplomazia internazionale nelle ultime settimane.
Nessuno, però, si sarebbe aspettato l’uscita di Abdullah; uscita che non poco ha fatto arrabbiare gli americani (vedi il commento di Hillary Clinton - con o senza Abdullah, non si toglie credibilità al voto).

Perchè Abdullah si è ritirato? Il quadro è talmente confuso è che l’unica certezza di cui disponiamo è che Karzai continuerà ad essere presidente per altri cinque anni. Anche se si votasse in condizioni normali (fraud-free) è chiaro che Abdullah, fosse solo per motivi etnici, non partirebbe avvantagiato e il favorito rimasto comunque Karzai.
E allora Abdullah potrebbe essersi ritirato per provare a salvare una trattativa (arenata, altrimenti avrebbe prodotto risultati giorni fa) per un governo di co-abitazione oppure perchè di trattativa non c’era più speranza e bisognava salvare la faccia. Di certo ha prodotto un danno forte soprattutto agli americani, che ricordiamolo hanno posposto ogni decisione sull’invio di nuove truppe proprio al dopo elezioni, perchè la nuova strategia del generale McCrhystal può essere vincente solo se c’è un governo credibile e non corrotto.

Cosa succederà adesso? In questa situazione nebulosa è difficile dirlo. L’Onu invoca una soluzione “legale” ovvero leggi “politica”, la commissione elettorale e il comitato di Karzai dicono che si voterà lo stesso per un voto farsa che metterebbe a rischio, di nuovo,  altre vite – con i talebani che minacciano un’ondata di attacchi. C’è da considerare che nonostante le rassicurazioni e gli appelli di Abdullah non è escluso che si arrivi a violenze di piazza soprattutto nel nord, con i suoi sostenitori arrabbiati con il governo. Comunque sia, se non si trova una soluzione politica a perdere saranno tutti: la famiglia Karzai si arrichirà per un altro po’ di anni mentre gli viene meno la terra sotto i piedi con i talebani che avanzano; Abdullah da astro (ri)nascente passerà per un’inaffidabile. Gli occidentali non sapranno più con chi dialogare e la guerriglia si avvantaggerà – come ha fatto sin’ora – dell’odio della popolazione verso un governo corrotto.

Per  fortuna in Afghanistan, le sorprese sono sempre possibili – non necessariamente positive – ma possibili anche in maniera clamorosa.
Mi viene in mente l’intervista ad Ashraf Ghani, girata dopo il voto, nella quale il candidato più illuminato del panorama politico afghano mi disse che l’unica soluzione non poteva che essere un accordo politico. Peccato che per fare gli accordi – aggiungo oggi – bisogna essere almeno in due e pensarla più o meno alla stessa maniera.