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Afghan Cabinet Nominations Show Few Signs of Change U.S. Wants 21/12/09 |
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Dopo la nomina del nuovo gabinetto
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21 Dicembre 2009 | news | |||
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Afghan Cabinet Nominations Show Few Signs of Change U.S. Wants The New York Times By Alissa J. Rubin dec/20/2009 KABUL President Hamid Karzai opted for continuity over change in the list of cabinet nominees he presented to Parliament on Saturday, retaining some leaders supported by the West but also several viewed as incompetent and two accused of involvement in the fraud that tainted the recent presidential election. The naming of the cabinet nominees was the first major test of whether Mr. Karzai would make the type of bold changes President Obama was hoping for when he decided to commit an additional 30,000 troops to fight a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. During three months of painstaking deliberations over White House strategy in Afghanistan, skeptics of an increased American commitment expressed fears that Mr. Karzai would not be the type of partner needed to rebuild his shattered country — one who could shed corrupt and ineffective officials and win over the opposition. By those standards, the cabinet list was not encouraging. Of the 24 nominees, half are ministers who would stay in their current positions or who have served previously in Mr. Karzai's government. The list did not include even a token member of the main opposition party. And at least one known warlord, Ismail Khan, was nominated to serve again as the minister of electricity and water. In an effort to show they were not meddling in Afghan political decisions, the Americans and the United Nations put out anodyne public statements in response to the list, calling it a government they can work with. Since President Obama's announcement of his strategy, American officials have appeared focused on putting a good face on what they anticipated would be stasis at the top of Afghanistan's government — a turnabout from their position less than two months ago. During the deliberations, in a memo leaked in Washington, Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry questioned whether America should commit any more troops and resources to Afghanistan because its government lacked legitimacy. After Mr. Obama's policy was announced, however, Mr. Eikenberry has made a 180-degree turn. In Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings on Dec. 9, he declared that several of Afghanistan's most powerful ministers — including the ministers of education, health, agriculture, rural reconstruction and development, commerce, finance, interior, defense and the director of national intelligence — “are world-class ministers who could do well in Europe or North America.” But a number of those ministries are believed to be rife with corruption, including Interior, Education and Health. While their ministers might not be personally corrupt — although that too had been questioned — they had either tolerated widespread malfeasance or been powerless to stop it. The interior minister and the education minister, whom Mr. Karzai wants to retain, were accused of enabling — if not orchestrating — the voting fraud that helped return Mr. Karzai to power. They have denied the accusations, but remain under a cloud. “Unfortunately, the international community has no clear policy regarding Afghanistan,” said Ahmad Behzad, a Parliament member from Herat and a Karzai opponent. “On the one hand they are claiming that they don't want corrupt officials in the Afghan government, but on the other hand we are witnessing that they are supporting corrupt officials.” Obama administration officials said the composition of the cabinet was roughly what they expected. A senior official expressed disappointment that Mr. Khan was nominated to keep his post. But the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he was encouraged by the proposed reappointment of the heads of several important ministries, including Agriculture, Interior, Finance, Health and Education. While not completely untainted, the official said, those ministers are regarded as competent. He also stressed that it was completely unrealistic to think the United States would be able to handpick people for Mr. Karzai's cabinet. Mahmoud Sakhel, an expert on international relations and a former deputy foreign minister for Mr. Karzai, said the problem with the American approach was that it focused on individual ministers, when he said the entire system was troubled. “The United States is chasing personalities instead of institution, they are thinking very short term,” he said. “This country needs a functioning legislative body, a functioning executive branch and a functioning judiciary. If we don't have these institutions, personalities don't matter, we will lose the war on terror in the long term.” Over all, Mr. Karzai's picks reflected the realpolitik of being a weak leader in a coalition government. He tried to satisfy the many groups that helped propel him to power and whom he needs to retain it. These include Afghan political supporters as well as the United States and other Western nations fighting in Afghanistan. In some cases, his choices, like that of Sayed Hamid Gailani as minister of border and tribal affairs, appeared calculated to please several constituencies. The scion of a powerful political family with strong ties to Pakistan and good relations with the southern Afghan tribes, he has credibility with all sides, is a fluent English speaker and supports trying to bring some Taliban back into the fold, which is a policy supported by many Afghans. The choice of Mr. Khan, the warlord, was also considered important for Mr. Karzai's ability to retain a hold on power since Mr. Khan helps maintain stability in the western part of the country. While most of the sitting ministers are expected to be approved by Parliament, several lawmakers warned that they could not yet predict whether the new nominees would fare as well. Mr. Karzai's supporters were less critical of his choices, but some also sounded disappointed. “After the election when Mr. Karzai was declared the winner, the people of Afghanistan expected a good, competent and efficient cabinet, but those wishes have not been fulfilled for some reason,” said Mu'een Marastyl, a Parliament member from Kunduz. “I don't agree with the term of warlords,” he added, “but there are other people who helped Karzai, who are quite influential people; who supported him during the election and even before that and I can see their influence in this cabinet.” Mark Landler contributed reporting from Washington. |
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