This story would be amusing if we weren’t propping up this ineffective clown:
In his speech, which was interrupted by a rocket that exploded close by and an exchange of gunfire, forcing Mr. Karzai to tell his audience not to worry, he spoke directly to the Taliban, calling on them to join the government.
Within minutes, a larger explosion from another rocket shook the large tent where the gathering, known as a jirga, was being held.
Also, too, his police force is a Keystone Kops operation.
mr. whipple
Can we fix the margins, or are they a mile under water?
El Cid
Interesting times — Moshe Arens (3 time Minister of Defense and one-time Minister of Foreign Affairs), in Ha’aretz, pushing the “one-state solution” for the West Bank — making it part of Israel and extending citizenship.
This approach, a binational state — a classic one among early international soshullist Zionists, by the way — has been dismissed in recent generations as impossible as it would fundamentally change the Jewish character of the state.
Presumably Gaza is to either keep its status as an imprisoned waste dump or Egypt is expected to pick up Israel’s castoffs.
[Note: Yes, there’s a big presumption here that this is entirely the choice of the Israeli policymakers, and unfortunately that’s probably an accurate assumption.]
Morbo
@mr. whipple: This is a job for Opera’s User Mode.
stuckinred
How do you say “Grab your cocks and pull up your socks. . . INCOMING!!! in Afghan?
jeffreyw
@stuckinred:
غطاء
mr. whipple
@Morbo: It’s doing it in IE, too.
cleek
it’s fine in FF.
IE8 kicks into “compatibility mode” whenever i try it.
PeakVT
This approach, a binational state—a classic one among early international soshullist Zionists, by the way—has been dismissed in recent generations as impossible as it would fundamentally change the Jewish character of the state.
I think a bi-national (multi-ethnic) state is inevitable at this point. Whether the transition is violent or not is still an open question, however.
John Bird
That’s a dark form of ‘amusing’. Don’t get me wrong, I laughed too, once, and bitterly. We can’t fix Afghanistan and I wish we could.
soonergrunt
The best thing that could happen to the government of Afghanistan would be for Karzai to get it.
He would be a martyr and would be replaced by somebody who was actually effective.
This is why the Taliban and other AGM (AntiGovernment Movement/Militia) haven’t gone after him.
Norwegian Shooter
@soonergrunt:
Are you sure?
“No Afghan ruler of any political persuasion has avoided exile or assassination since 1901.”
Thomas Barfield at Scott Horton’s No Comment blog.
Sm*t Cl*de
Not so much a government as a bribe-collection agency.
DPirate
It would take a Saddam Hussein or a Duvalier to be “effective” over there.