  U.S. Army troops in Kunar province.
BY BADRYA KHAN
IDN-InDepthNews Service
(IDN Asia Desk) - ‘Enduring Freedom’ is how the U.S. names its invasion and occupation of countries. ‘Fraud’ is the most recurrent single word in relation to U.S.-sponsored elections in those countries. ‘Fraud’ was suspected in some U.S. presidential elections: John F. Kennedy's in 1960 -- when also dead people allegedly ‘voted’ -- and George W Bush's in 2000, with its controversial vote count.
‘Fraud’ is as well the term that some leading Western media and independent observers have applied to elections in Afghanistan, which the U.S. invaded and occupied in 2001, and in Iraq, which it also invaded and occupied in 2003.
At issue are the:
- 2004 polls in the U.S. occupied Afghanistan that took Hamid Karzai to the Afghan presidency,
- January 2005 legislative elections in the U.S. occupied Iraq for an Assembly to draft a Constitution,
- December 2005 legislative elections in occupied Iraq for the first National Assembly (Parliament) under the new Constitution, and
- The last local elections for Iraqi Governates in March 2009.
THE AFGHAN 'FRAUD'
The following are just a few reports by mostly Western media commenting August 20 Afghan elections:
"Afghan polling 'marked by fraud'." – "Voter registration cards are for sale by the handful on the streets of Afghan cities and villages." – Reuters
"Thousands of voting cards have been offered for sale and thousands of dollars have been offered in bribes to buy votes." – BBC.
"President Karzai's Supporters 'Buy' Votes for Afghanistan Election." -- Times of London
"Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) said that President Karzai’s supporters were trying to force it to not to close polling stations in Taliban strongholds where voting cannot be properly monitored."-- The Daily Telegraph.
"US envoy 'expects' disputes over Afghan election: The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan says allegations of fraud are to be expected in the Afghan presidential election. Richard Holbrooke says there are disputed elections in the United States and he wouldn't be surprised if there are questions of fraud raised in Afghanistan." Holbrooke said Sunday, "I expect it." -- Associated Press.
"News focus instead steered toward the issue of potential fraud. It seemed the supposedly indelible ink that voters dipped their fingers into to prevent voting a second time, had washed off in certain cases. One of those who cried foul was Ramazan Bashardost, number three in the presidential race." -- Al Jazeera.
"A leading group of election observers say there was widespread voting fraud and intimidation during Thursday's presidential election in Afghanistan… Stuffed ballot boxes, illiterate voters being told who to vote for and biased officials were cited by Afghanistan's Free and Fair Election Foundation." – BBC.
KARZAI’S ‘REGIME’
All fingers point to incumbent president Hamid Karzai as the key responsible of such fraud.
Karzai’s political record is full of allegations of corruption, mismanagement of public affairs, misuse of public money, nepotism, favouritism, and relations with ‘war lords’ and their close allies, the drug-traffickers, let alone human rights abuses consented for the sake of keeping the presidential chair.
Two specific examples:
- Karzai pardoned in July five international narcotics traffickers after the Supreme Court found the men guilty and handed down a sentence of 12 to 15 years in prison, reports the Afghan Killid Media group. One of the pardoned traffickers is the nephew of Hajji Din Mohammed, chief of Karzai's re-election campaign, Killid adds.
- Under Karzai's rule, one of the most brutal Afghan ‘war lords’, Sher Mohammed Akhunzadeh, became the governor of Helmand province in 2002.
As Afghan president, Karzai is also held responsible for flagrant human abuses by public security forces.
Karzai approved a law that legalises the right of men to rape and practice sexual violence against their wives; in the hope of obtaining the vote of Afghan Shiites.
Both U.S. and former as well as current administration's high-ranking officials -- including the two Secretaries of State, Condoleezza Rice and Hilary Clinton -- have condemned Karzai’s regime for all the above-mentioned and other allegations against him.
THE CANDIDATES
- Hamid Karzai was appointed by the U.S. and allies in December 2001 as Chairman of the Transitional Administration. Then he was named Interim President from 2002 until he won the 2004 presidential elections held under the U.S. and its allies’ guns.
- Abdullah Abdullah, M.D., a doctor and politician who is Karzai's most powerful rival in the August 20 elections. He was foreign minister of Afghanistan until Karzai dismissed him in the year 2006.
- Ramazan Bashardost, member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan, was Planning minister until Karzai dismissed him as well.
The other 38 presidential candidates seem to have had very little chances right from the beginning the poll campaign.
WINNERS AND LOSERS
The big winners are a handful of powerful ‘war lords’ devoted mostly to the highly lucrative arms smuggling business.
The ‘war lords’ work in close and mutually beneficial alliance with the ‘drug lords’ who manage a business estimated at over $30 billion -- Afghanistan is the world's largest illicit producer of opium -- let alone the U.S. and allies’ weapons producers.
The big losers are 34 million Afghans.
Figures vividly illustrate their living miserable living conditions:
Refugees: 3,000,000 in neighbouring Pakistan, Iran and others
Life expectancy: 44 years
Fertility rate (births per woman): 7.1
Mortality rate: children under-5 (per 1,000), 257
Infant mortality: (per 1,000 live births), 165
Child malnutrition, 33 percent of children under 5
Access to Improved water source, 22 percent of population
Access to sanitation facilities, 45 percent of urban population
THE GRAVEYARD OF ALL EMPIRES
The Afghan modern state was born in 1738 when Nadir Shah and his army conquered the region of Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul and Lahore. In 1747, Nadir Shah was killed and tribal chiefs designated Ahmad Shah as their King.
By 1751, Ahmad Shah and Afghan army conquered the entire present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Khorasan and Kohistan provinces of Iran, along with Delhi in India.
In 1772, Ahmad Shah retired to Kandahar, where he died. His son, Timur Shah Durrani, who moved the capital from Kandahar to Kabul, succeeded him. Timur died in 1793 and was succeeded by his son Zaman Shah Durrani.
THE BRITISH EMPIRE
During the 19th century, three Anglo-Afghan wars took place, in 1839–42, 1878–80, and 1919 respectively. As a consequence, Afghanistan lost much of its territory and independence to the British Empire.
The British Empire exercised strong influence until King Amanullah Khan acceded to the throne in 1919. It was then when Afghanistan recovered its independence.
THE KINGDOM OF AFGHANISTAN
After the third Anglo-Afghan war, King Amanullah, who ruled between 1919 and 1929, established diplomatic relations with major countries and embarked on a number of reforms to modernise Afghanistan.
A key figure behind the reforms was Foreign minister Mahmud Tarzi, known for his firm support of women's right to education. He made elementary education compulsory, and undertook a number of social reforms such as the abolition of the veil for women and the opening of some co-educational schools.
Faced with growing armed opposition, Amanullah was forced to abdicate in 1929. Prince Mohammed Nadir Khan became King and consolidated power while reactivating the country.
His son Mohammad Zahir Shah succeeded him, ruling for 40 years (1933–1973), the longest period of stability recorded in Afghanistan.
Then, in 1953, Mohammed Daoud Khan, who sought a closer relationship with the Soviet Union, replaced Prime minister Shah Mahmid Khan.
THE REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN
In 1973, Daoud Khan launched a bloodless coup and became the first president of Afghanistan while Zahir Shah was abroad. He turned to both the Soviet Union and the U.S. seeking assistance for development of the country.
But in 1978, governmental forces killed a prominent leader of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, Mir Akbar Khyber, and also arrested many party leaders. Party leaders Nur Mohammad Taraki, Babrak Karmal, Hafizullah Amin and a number of military officers overthrew the regime.
The country was then renamed the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), and the new regime lasted until 1992, permitting freedom of religion, undertaking land reform, and allowing women to participate in politics.
U.S. VERSUS USSR
In spite of all the progress achieved in the fields of human rights, development and modernisation, which were supposed to be in line with its declared policy, the U.S. decided to take active measures aimed at weakening the Soviet position in Afghanistan.
This is how President Jimmy Carter began in 1979 to covertly fund forces opposing the pro-Soviet government, very much against the warning by his National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski that this might lead to a Soviet military intervention.
THE SOVIET EMPIRE
As expected, the Soviet Union intervened in Afghanistan on December 24, 1979, with over 100,000 troops. Prime Minister Amin was killed and replaced by Babrak Karmal.
The U.S. then reacted by arming and supporting Afghan Mujahideen, who were fighting against the Soviet invasion.
The U.S. support started under Carter administration, but increased during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. The Mujahideen also received support from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other countries.
Under international pressure and the high number of casualties, the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989.
The Taliban, meanwhile, grew as a politico-religious force and brought Kabul under control in 1996. Four years later, they captured 95 percent of Afghanistan.
THE AMERICAN EMPIRE?
After September 11 attacks, the U.S. embarked on the ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’, with the declared aim of destroying Al-Qaeda “terrorist camps”. In 2001, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. This rest of the story until today is known. (IDN-InDepthNews/24.08.09)
Copyright © 2009 IDN-InDepthNews Service
|
