Washington’s second bad choice: Dr. Abdullah

Washington has only concluded the glitzy and formal part of its hospitality to Afghan politicians but the informal and behind-the-doors meetings are still ongoing.

Almost the same policy-makers who held lengthy discussions with Hamid Karzai last week are now listening to Dr. Abdullah’s rants.

On Tuesday Washington Times ran a story on Abdullah’s malicious predictions on a number of issues including the upcoming Consultative Peace Jirga and talks with the Taliban.

Unsurprisingly Dr. Abdullah looks at every issue from his ethno-negativistic prism.

I am not astonished to see the Abdullah who tried to deceive some people with his fake Pashtun identity card during the presidential election is now a staunch and vocal Panjshiri (in fact a Shora-e-Nezaree).

He welcomed Karzai’s choice for the IEC only because Mr. Manawi is a Panjshiri and a Shora-e-Nezaree but he fiercely demanded all the key Pashtun ministers (defense, interior, education and finance) to be sacked in October 2009.

Abdullah is not short of ills and evils which I don’t want to focus here. I would like here to protest another of Washington’s historic mistake in my country which I fear will have grave consequences for us.

For over eight years we have been suffering and losing precious opportunities under a Karzai-centric US engagement in Afghanistan. As Karzai reaches to end of the show – or in order to have a B-plan in case Karzai dies – Dr. Abdullah is steadily making headway into corridors which led Karzai to the Argg.

This is wrong. Abdullah is by no means better than Karzai but has several worse factors.

Abdullah is not and should not be the future of Afghanistan unless the plan is to push the country from bad to worse.