Summaries of what Kerry did in Pakistan and Afghanistan

[karynnj]

I had posted in the Afghganistan thread two articles that were written as Kerry completed his trip. I realized seeing this excellent NPR article that it would be better to post them together in one thread - as this addresses both - and there are real connections. The chief among them is the theme of fighting corruption, something that BOTH countries had a long history of committing. (For those of us, especially BLM, who know the amount of corruption Kerry fought in our own government, I wonder if that background helps him in pushing other countries to work against corruption.)

The first two dealt only with Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has vowed renewed efforts to combat corruption, a major bone of contention with Washington as its troops battle Taliban insurgents, U.S. Senator John Kerry said on Friday.

Corruption and governance in Afghanistan are being scrutinised in Washington as U.S. President Barack Obama plans a strategy review in December, a month after mid-term Congressional elections will be held and amid sagging support for the war.
<snip>
Kerry, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described the government's anti-corruption unit -- an apparent source of friction in recent weeks -- as a sovereign Afghan institution that would welcome outside expertise.
<snip>
Foreign security companies, who have over 30,000 local guards on their books, are deeply unpopular in Afghanistan where they have a reputation for arrogance and even recklessness. Karzai, sitting next to Kerry at his presidential palace in Kabul, said the timeframe was final.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE67J0FI

After a series of meetings with Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), President Hamid Karzai said Friday that he would support the independent work of two anti-corruption law enforcement units that had come under political pressure from his office following the arrest of one of his aides last month.
<snip>
President Karzai reiterated that it was a key national security interest of Afghanistan to address corruption and its underlying causes comprehensively and across the board," Kerry said in a statement.

"The president and I agreed that the work of these entities must be allowed to continue free from outside interference or political influence, including with respect to ongoing cases," he added.

Kerry and Karzai made an appearance together after their meeting Friday. Karzai's office issued a separate statement saying the two agreed on the need to reduce civilian casualties, disband private security firms and accelerate the process of Afghan control over the nation's affairs. Karzai's statement added that the anti-corruption teams should be free of "foreign interference or political influence."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/20/AR2010082002034.html


The new NPR article, speaks of both Pakistan and Afghanistan and includes audio.

On the heels of a trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, acknowledged that the flooding in Pakistan could lead to instability there.

"I think it's critical for all of us to understand that potential, and try to head it off, which means an adequate response to the flood demands," he told NPR's Robert Siegel, adding that "the government is doing everything in its power, but they're going to need help."
<snip>
Kerry, who has sponsored a major aid bill in the Senate, providing aid to Pakistan, said it is important to acknowledge how much progress the country has made, fighting against corruption.
<snip>
Kerry said that, in a statement he and Karzai co-signed, the president "made it clear that he intends to press forward with that case, and that the major crimes unit will be able to function as an independent entity, free from political influence."

(the case referred to is the corruption case of a Karzai aide, who Karzai got released as soon as he was arrested.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/08/20/129327894/it-s-critical-to-understand-instability-risk-in-pakistan-john-kerry-tells-npr

I posted this on GD-P - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x417643

[karynnj]

1. Boston Globe article

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/08/21/karzai_now_says_he_will_back_anticorruption_panels/

[sandrakae]

4. Smile John.

[Blaukraut]

2. Terrific work, Karyn

Thank you for keeping us up to date on Kerry's trip and effort in getting Karzai straightened out. It looks like he was successful, too!
It's been fascinating to read about these past few days.

[Luftmensch067]

3. Transcript of JK talking to Wolf Blitzer last night on Situation Room

I'm hoping we can find video, too, though I haven't been able to yet. Believe me, this is a minuscule portion of the transcript, so I'm quoting it in full:

In Afghanistan, meanwhile, President Hamid Karzai is making a concession to the United States and its concerns that corruption is undermining support for the war. Mr. Karzai is pledging, for the first time, to allow two key government anticorruption units to operate without political interference. The announcement came after Mr. Karzai met with Senator John Kerry and other senior U.S. officials in Kabul. In an exclusive interview, Senator Kerry spoke to our foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty, about why this new commitment by President Karzai is significant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: This is being described in Washington as one of the biggest rifts between the government of Afghanistan and the U.S. government.

Do you agree?

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Well, I think it's a concern for all of us. I mean none of us -- you know, I'm an American taxpayer. And as an American senator, I -- I am concerned that we're not engaged in supporting something that, you know, breaks everybody's sense of right and wrong. That would be inappropriate. That's unfair to our troops.

So it is important. But I think working closely together, in a constructive way, we can move forward in a way that's transparent, accountable and holds people who break the law accountable. President Karzai has said that he wants to do that, but he wants to do it, obviously, respecting the Afghan Constitution and -- and their sovereign rights. Now, that's legitimate. That's understandable. And we need to work with him in a way that guarantees that Afghans don't think Americans are calling all the shots and that Americans are running the show and that there's somehow sort of a parallel government here that is American. That doesn't work. It doesn't work for us. It doesn't work for them.

I don't think there's that big a divergence here. I believe we can get on the same page. And I think we can work constructively together. But in the end, the test will be what the government of Afghanistan does itself to assume those responsibilities.

DOUGHERTY: You just came back from the floods. It's a humanitarian crisis, of course.

But it's a political crisis, too, potentially, right?

KERRY: Sure.

DOUGHERTY: How serious is this?

How much of a threat is it to the Pakistan government?

KERRY: Well, the Pakistan government needs help from a lot of countries. And I'm proud that President Obama and Secretary Clinton have announced major commitments by the United States to help lead the recovery and relief efforts.

You know, the sight of this water is just devastating -- you know, hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed; over a million people displaced from those homes; seven million people directly affected, maybe 14 million totally affected by this. I saw power plants that are shut down, underwater; refineries underwater; buses and trains stranded in mid-track on those roads because they'd broken behind them.

This is going to be an enormous recovery effort. And Pakistan was already fragile. And Pakistan has already been deeply committed to fighting against radical religious extremism and violence. We want that -- that democracy that it is to be able to continue in that effort.

So I think it is very important for us to help the government. I was impressed by the relief efforts that the Pakistan Army was engaged in. They have a strong organization. But they're not rich and they don't have a lot of resources. And it's going to take a global effort to help to sustain their commitment both to their democracy and to this -- this effort to fight insurgencies.

Full Situation Room transcript here: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1008/20/sitroom.01.html

Please link to video if you find it -- I'll look a little more now...

[YvonneCa]

5. Thank you for posting this. I had missed it. n/t

[sandnsea]

6. Who has control of the nukes?

Or are they in a part of the country not affected, or has no one asked that question yet.

[karynnj]

7. Great question and one I have not heard mentioned at all -

which is likely a good thing that it is not being publicly discussed. I seriously doubt the US military (and Senator Kerry, for that matter) have not addressed that issue with the Pakistanis behind closed doors.

It is clear that the issue is why so many have said - even before the flood - that Pakistan is the most dangerous country. I doubt the Pakistani government would relinquish their weapons - as it would obviously lead to the fall of the government. Yet, the government is clearly fragile. That might account for the real sense of urgency in Kerry's comments.

(His typically understated comment on the possibility that the Taliban could seek to gain support by helping was mocked in at least one RW blog (Hot Air). Rather odd that they still gon't call Bush/Cheney on ginning up fake fears in Iraq, but think that there is no danger in Pakistan.

[karynnj]

8. NYT article on Karzai's action today on the corruption units

It is interesting in giving what the Afghan side is - balanced by other views.

The American point of view and Kerry's effort are described in these paragraphs:

The issue of the Major Crimes Task Force and the Sensitive Investigations Unit was the subject of discussions between Mr. Karzai and Senator John Kerry during two visits here last week by Mr. Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Mr. Kerry issued a statement saying “the work of these entities must be allowed to continue free from outside interference or political influence, including with respect to ongoing cases.”

The Obama administration has made fighting corruption in Afghanistan a mainstay of its policy here, and the two agencies have been particularly active in prosecuting corrupt officials, with at least 52 people now in their custody on graft charges.

“The M.C.T.F. and the S.I.U. are two of the best, most effective organizations” in the Afghan government, said a Western official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity in line with his country’s policy. “What they should be doing is heaping praise on them and rewarding them for doing their job.”

The perception that Mr. Karzai intends to scuttle the two agencies has caused the most serious crisis in United States-Afghan relations since last year’s presidential elections, which international observers denounced as fraudulent.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/world/asia/24karzai.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

[karynnj]

9. Nice interview with CNN - one new thing - Kerry went back to Afghanistan at Obama's request

The reason was to get the agreement he did on the corruption units. (The video is down the page - where there is a Kerry photo.)

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/23/afghanistan.anti.corruption.units/?hpt=T2#fbid=FyhmmkbxuIf&wom=false

[ProSense]

10. Thanks for all the links.

I've been reading them. The interviews with JK are providing incredible insights into what's going on in Pakistan and Afghanistan.