One can turn Kissinger’s dictum around, and say that being Israel’s ally is more dangerous than being an enemy. What is the cost of the idiotic Iraq War, that Israel’s “supporters” in the US inflicted on America? $1 trillion?

The US said nothing when the elections were “arranged” the first time around, so that Karzai won. So why all the noise the second time around?

Karzai recognizes that substanial help from Iran is necessary, if stability is to be achieved in Afghanistan. Foolish American policy makers, including Hillary Clinton, refuse to acknowledge this salient fact.

The latest example: the U.S.-installed Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, who is in serious hot water with his really angry patrons in Washington.

The Obama administration is blaming the largely powerless Karzai, a former CIA “asset,” for America’s failure to defeat the Taliban. Washington accused Karzai of rigging last year’s elections. True enough, but the U.S. pre-rigged the Afghan elections by excluding all parties opposed to western occupation.

Washington, which supports dictators and phoney elections across the Muslim world, had the chutzpah to blast Karzai for corruption and rigging votes. This while the Pentagon was engineering a full military takeover of Pakistan.

The Obama administration made no secret it wanted to replace Karzai. You could almost hear Washington crying, “Bad puppet! Bad puppet!”

Karzai fired back, accusing the U.S. of vote-rigging. He has repeatedly demanded the U.S. military stop killing so many Afghan civilians.

Next, Karzai dropped a bombshell, asserting the U.S. was occupying Afghanistan to dominate the energy-rich Caspian Basin region, not because of the non-existent al-Qaida or Taliban. Karzai said Taliban was “resisting western occupation.” The U.S. will soon have 100,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, plus 40,000 dragooned NATO troops.

Karzai even half-jested he might join Taliban.

Washington had apoplexy. A vicious propaganda campaign was unleashed against Karzai. The New York Times, a mouthpiece for the Obama administration and ardent backer of the Afghan war, all but called for the overthrow of Karzai and his replacement by a compliant general.

An American self-promoter, Peter Galbraith, who had been fired from his job with the UN in Kabul, was trotted out to tell media that Karzai might be both a drug addict and crazy.

Behind this ugly, if also comical, spat lay a growing divergence between Afghans and Washington. After 31 years of conflict, nearly three million dead, millions more refugees and frightful poverty, Afghans yearn for peace.

For the past two years, Karzai and his warlord allies have been holding peace talks with the Taliban in Saudi Arabia.

Karzai knows the only way to end the Afghan conflict is to enfranchise the nation’s Pashtun majority and its fighting arm, the Taliban. Political compromise with the Taliban is the only – and inevitable – solution.

But the Obama administration, misadvised by Washington neocons and other hardliners, is determined to “win” a military victory in Afghanistan (whatever that means) to save face as a great power and impose a settlement that leaves it in control of strategic Afghanistan.

Accordingly, the U.S. thwarted Karzai’s peace talks by getting Pakistan, currently the recipient of $7 billion in U.S. cash, to arrest senior Taliban leaders sheltering there who had been part of the ongoing peace negotiations with Kabul.

It was Karzai’s turn to be enraged. So he began openly defying his American patrons and adopting an independent position. The puppet was cutting his strings.

Karzai’s newfound boldness was due to the fact that both India and China are eager to replace U.S./British/NATO domination of Afghanistan. India is pouring money, arms and agents into Afghanistan and training government forces. China, more discreetly, is moving in to exploit Afghanistan’s recently discovered mineral wealth that, says Karzai, is worth $1 trillion, according to a U.S. government geological survey.

Russia, still smarting from its 1980s defeat in Afghanistan, is watching America’s travails there with rich enjoyment and not a little yearning for revenge. Moscow has its own ambitions in Afghanistan.

This column has long suggested Karzai’s best option is to distance himself from American tutelage and demand the withdrawal of all foreign occupation forces.

Risky business, of course. Remember Kissinger’s warning. Karzai could end up dead. But he could also become a national hero and best candidate to lead an independent Afghanistan that all ethnic groups could accept.

Alas, the U.S. keeps making the same mistake of seeking obedient clients rather than democratic allies who are genuinely popular and legitimate.

US Puppet Cuts His Strings

Thwarted by the American government on compromise with Taliban, Karzai has begun openly defying his patrons

By Eric Margolis

My understanding is that the US not only is failing to send a delegation to Tehran for the conference, foolish American politicians and diplomats have been pressuring other countries not to attend! Sheerest arrogance and stupidity. Iran will attend the May confence in New York (on IAEA/NPT).

Iran was not invited because that would legitimate the regime and its nuclear program. Remember, these conferences are designed for pomp and to make statements. They are also designed, to convict countries in absentia. Not much else will come of it. US is not really interested in hearing what Iran has to say on this or its interests. If it did, why all the breathlessness and hyperbole?

Will the US send a representative to the Iranian Nuclear conference next week?

Jacques Chirac fought in the Algerian war, and he told Tony Blair, before the idiotic US/UK invasion of Iraq, that a Shia government in Baghdad “should not be confused with a democracy”.

Thanks. Quite interesting, and perhaps Obama will exploit the numerous ways available to him, to pressure Israel to stop all construction in the illegal colonies in the West Bank.

Interesting that one Israeli response said, “We didn’t steal anything….”
A case is just getting off the ground in Western Pennsylvania http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/s_668192.html
concerning nuclear contamination of a site that was alleged to have been a location from which Israel stole nuclear material some 30+ years ago, in the first stages of Israel’s (alleged) nuclear development program.