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Afghanistan: The Dangers of Nation-Building

December 1, 2009

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  • Mark January 1, 2010 4:13 pm

    As far as I’m concerned, I have seen no evidence from any reputable source that Karzai worked for an oil company. (No, wiki doesn’t count, though even it seems to deny it.)
    But if you can find a reputable source, Robert, I’m happy to change my tune. Sometimes wiki has footnotes leading to reputable sources.

  • Robt December 31, 2009 5:43 am

    If you believe WIKI?
    Unocal connection:
    There’s been much debate over Karzai’s alleged consultant work with Unocal (Union Oil Company of California since acquired by Chevron in 2005). In 2002 when Karzai became the subject of heavy media coverage as one of the front runners to lead Afghanistan, it was reported that he was a former consultant for them. Spokesmen for both Unocal and Karzai have denied any such relationship, although Unocal could not speak for all companies involved in the consortium. The original claim that Karzai worked for Unocal originates from a December 6, 2001 issue of the French newspaper Le Monde, Barry Lane UNOCAL’s manager for public relations states that, “He was never a consultant, never an employee. We’ve exhaustively searched through all our records.” Lane however did say that Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, was a Unocal consultant in the mid-1990s.
    *I have read somewhere that Karzai did work for some oil company or had some heavy oil company connections. Can’t remember where I read it. It suggested this oil company connection had much to do with America’s support of propping Karzai up and supporting his first election and those thereafter. It moved American oil companies closer to the Afghanistan oil pipeline that has had limited media for quite sometime.
    Now if you think about it, Saddam Hussien was our little dictator that we propped and supported. We did it mostly from Dick Cheney’s dark side. Without flashlight transparency we will not have acccess to know. Just like we did not know that Bruster Jennings was an undercover gold plated CIA intel operation, until Cheney decided he needed to out the undercover CIA agent that collected the intel in this program.
    Why did we know Valerie Plame’s name and what she did? Because there were no teprts on her prior the treasonous outing, right?

  • Mark December 2, 2009 7:07 pm

    CORRECTION: There is no evidence Hamid Karzai ever worked for an oil company.
    A caller to today’s show claimed he did. I had not heard the claim before, and none of the hosts contradicted him.
    Now I know for certain that the claim is false. I will also say so on next Tuesday’s show.

  • G. I. Joe December 2, 2009 11:17 am

    The imminent fight in S.W. Asia is about neutralizing Pakistan’s nukes–send the 30 K into Pakistan–not Afghan–that’s the quicker solution to a messy situation–can U smell Obama’s acquiescence to McCrystal and the quasi-imperial pentagon powers that be–that are quite comfortable with a long lingering conflict
    Troop Buildup
    Send more soldiers into the fire
    of quasi-imperial battle
    that has no end
    to its continuing funeral procession,
    without vision of victory,
    just a low-grade agony
    of numb acceptance,
    a deadly solemn dance
    with no conclusion,
    trickle, trickle, trickle,
    the slow bloody drip
    of sacrifice
    that no one wants to notice,
    going on and on,
    lingering insanity with military impunity,
    as if that is a plan.