Hamid Karzai was sworn in Tuesday as Afghanistan’s first popularly elected president, calling for sustained help from the international community to bolster a young democracy that still faces the twin threats of terrorism and drugs.
The U.S.-backed leader, wearing a traditional green robe and a black lambskin hat, took the oath of office in a solemn ceremony in a restored hall of the war-damaged former royal palace.
Vice President Dick Cheney, the highest-ranking American official to visit Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld were among those who gave Karzai a standing ovation when he arrived.
Except to the Michael Moore wing of the political sphere, I mean the Democrats, all that matters is that Karzai is a puppet who was once an advisor to Unocal. Except he wasn’t, although if in 20 years something bad happens in Afghanistan, you can be sure the loony left will use the pictures of Cheney and Rumsfeld as proof that the Republicans caused the problem.
ape
People who have been ‘interim presidents’ should not be permitted to run for ‘president’.
Otherwise the guy who has been running around cutting the ribbon on new roads and bridges fairly obviously has an unfair advantage. This might be a fair advantage for incumbents, but certainly not for appointees.
Mikey
Thanks ape. That was incredibly petty.
Kimmitt
Except to the Michael Moore wing of the political sphere, I mean the Democrats,
Give in to your hate. It will make you strong.
Mikey
No thanks, Kimmitt, I’ve got your example and it just doesn’t look like its any fun being hating like that all the time.
Kimmitt
Don’t hate the playa, hate the game.
space
Leaving aside any substantive defence of Michael Moore, I’d just like to point out that he isn’t a Democrat.
One would think that if you want to attack the Democrats you would choose to pick an actual, you know, Democrat, to illustrate the point.
space
To elaborate on the stupidity of using Michael Moore as a proxy for Democratic thought: Democrats OVERWHELMINGLY supported invading Afghanistan.
The general consensus among Democrats, particularly those with any influence in the party, is that the Bush administration put TOO FEW troops in Afghanistan during the initial fighting, has insufficiently committed reconstruction funds afterwards, and has pulled intelligence resources out of the country to toss into Iraq.
As for Hamid Karzai, what Unocal has claimed is that he was NEVER DIRECTLY ON THEIR PAYROLL. This amounts to a non-denial, denial that he ever worked for them. Personally, I don’t care. From my point of view, he seems to be about as good a choice to secure the country as anyone else. Some solid, Western contacts are good undoubtedly a good thing. But the suggestion that the Karai-Unocal link was a myth mad up out of whole cloth is simply untrue.
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