Thursday, December 30, 2010

Is Saleh an option to Karzai?

I accidentally watched Amrullah Saleh's talk on C-span and suddenly I see new hopes emerging in Afghanistan. I was impressed so much so that I googled him and read a few articles. What I decipher is he is neither a Madarsa going blind jihadi type nor is he an absolute pro-US face. He is an educated person and has a high understanding of Afghan problem and seem to have clear view of its solution. At least he says true things as they are. No politics no gimmicks. That said where is he going? US is utterly unhappy about Karzai. Karzai's recent pro-Pak decisions has alienated Indian interests and an increasingly powerful Taliban is crying for a change. A change that is deep rooted. In Saleh I see a Man who is intelligent and a leader with followings in grassroots. He seems to understand the problem better than US and NATO. With US (In Obama) and Europe now beginning to acknowledge its displeasure with Pakistani efforts they need a tough actor in its backyard. Someone who could also be a face saver for western powers upon their exit. With Saleh's experience being a Spy-master he is not one who would be as concerned about his survivability as Karzai is today. So I don't know what the big game would be but I am pleased to see new young and confident leaders emerging in Afghanistan.

1 comment:

Al E Ventz said...

I too was taken by Saleh's impressive grasp of the Afghanistan cultural (political) algorithm. It would seem that such an intellect would do a better job than the incumbent. Unfortunately such candidness is rare in politics.