Could that lead to Hamid Karzais government being toppled?
Karzai is no more. He is now fighting for his life. They have already started telling him that by the end of this year he will have to shoulder the responsibility of security in Afghanistan. But what are they giving him for this? Nothing at all. In fact, more civilian casualties in military operations are going to weaken Karzai’s position. Some in Afghanistan believe that the extent of civilian casualties has empowered the Taliban’s resurgence. It is not only that. While the civilian casualties have certainly made the Taliban a popular movement in Afghanistan – some 80 per cent of the population support them – the people of Afghanistan are fed up with corruption. They are sick of the influence of warlords and drug barons, and the continued American occupation. If it was a short stint – come in and get out after completing the job – the situation would have been different. But the Americans didn’t do that. If they wanted to disperse al-Qaeda, they succeeded after the first year, and aft
