By now it is obvious that Hamid Karzai will remain unchallenged, since Abdullah Abdullah dropped out, considering a win for himself nearly impossible in the current climate of corruption.



"He called the August vote “a disaster” as “The evidence of fraud by Karzai’s campaign was so overwhelming that it threatened to render the entire vote illegitimate.” Packer went on to say that publicly, Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan, “hailed the election” but privately, according to his colleagues, he suggested that a runoff between Karzai and his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, might be necessary for the appearance of legitimacy.”

“Now there is a strong possibility,” he continued, “that a stolen election will leave Karzai in power for five more years, at the very moment that Obama has to answer his generals’ request to send thousands more troops to fight, and perhaps die, on behalf of the Afghan government.”

Packer goes on to say, “Holbrooke once told me that three things could cause America to lose the war: the Taliban sanctuary in Pakistan, civilian casualties, and corruption.” Packer added, “The Afghan government was so crooked that NATO considered it as much of a threat to success as the Taliban.” (Note: all three of those warning flags are flying.)"

entire article found @;
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15731

After citing failure to clean up the election process in Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah saved himself and everyone else alot of needless trouble by dropping out, thus granting Karzai victory by default.

"The second round of voting had been an extremely iffy proposition since Sunday, when Karzai’s rival, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from the race. Citing Karzai’s refusal to undertake any significant measures to prevent fraud in the second round, Abdullah pulled out, thereby throwing the entire election process into a tailspin.

Abdullah’s main conditions for taking part in the elections included the sacking of IEC head Lodin, who, according to Abdullah, was a Karzai crony complicit in the massive vote-rigging that all but scuppered the first round of the elections. But instead of losing his job, Lodin beamed for the cameras as he announced Karzai the winner.

“We pray for his success,” he said in closing."

entire article @;
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/afghanistan/091102/karzai-declared-winner

Looks like Lodin got his prayers answered as Karzai regains control of his corrupt regime in Kabul. Wonder if anyone else got their prayers answered?

Background on Karzai, Bush and UNOCAL;

"According to Afghan, Iranian, and Turkish government sources, Hamid Karzai, the interim Prime Minister of Afghanistan, was a top adviser to the El Segundo, California-based UNOCAL Corporation which was negotiating with the Taliban to construct a Central Asia Gas (CentGas) pipeline from Turkmenistan through western Afghanistan to Pakistan.

Karzai, the leader of the southern Afghan Pashtun Durrani tribe, was a member of the mujaheddin that fought the Soviets during the 1980s. He was a top contact for the CIA and maintained close relations with CIA Director William Casey, Vice President George Bush, and their Pakistani Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) Service interlocutors. Later, Karzai and a number of his brothers moved to the United States under the auspices of the CIA. Karzai continued to serve the agency's interests, as well as those of the Bush Family and their oil friends in negotiating the CentGas deal, according to Middle East and South Asian sources.

When one peers beyond all of the rhetoric of the White House and Pentagon concerning the Taliban, a clear pattern emerges showing that construction of the trans-Afghan pipeline was a top priority of the Bush administration from the outset. Although UNOCAL claims it abandoned the pipeline project in December 1998, the series of meetings held between U.S., Pakistani, and Taliban officials after 1998, indicates the project was never off the table."

read on @;
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/MAD201A.html

Since the Taliban were not as easy to bribe with Houston's oil wealth, soneone else was needed to answer the prayers of UNOCAL execs looking to score a deal in Afghanistan. That someone was Hamid Karzai...

"As America's New War now begins focusing on other "rogue nations," UNOCAL's stars have magically aligned. About two months after the Houston parties, UNOCAL executive John Maresca addressed the House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific and urged support for establishment of an investor-friendly climate in Afghanistan, "... we have made it clear that construction of our proposed pipeline cannot begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments, lenders and our company." Meaning that UNOCAL's ability to construct the Afghan pipeline was a cause worthy of U.S. taxpayer dollars.

Maresca's prayers have been answered with the Taliban's replacement. As reported in Le Monde, the new Afghan government's head, Hamid Karzai, formerly served as a UNOCAL consultant. Only nine days after Karzai's ascension, President Bush nominated another UNOCAL consultant and former Taliban defender, Zalmay Khalilzad, as his special envoy to Afghanistan."

read on @;
http://www.counterpunch.org/tomenron.html

Following Karzai's "victory by default", U.S. soldiers are in no better place than before, only now Karzai has had several years to expose his corrupt regime to the Afghan people, causing more defection of civilians to the Taliban, the only fair and certain form of justice they would recieve. Karzai is well placed to continue working behind the scenes on securing a trans-Afghan pipeline, and the corruption will breed constant instability that gives the U.S. troops the needed excuses to remain an occupation force in Afghanistan indefinitely. All there supposedly fighting the Taliban, without acknowledging that the overt corruption of the Karzai regime will only enhance the recruitment ability of the Taliban..

We should follow the advice of Ron Paul (R) - TX and without further delay withdraw ALL our U.S. soldiers from Afghanistan's alpine quagmire, leaving Karzai to the collective justice of the Afghan people. There can be no victory for U.S. (or anyone else!!) under a corrupt puppet regime installed by GW Bush!!