Last week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai declined to attend a televised presidential debate, prompting opponents to accuse him of taking the campaign lightly. Today, Karzai is campaigning publicly in Kabul, his first public appearances in what has been over a month and a half of opposition rallying.
Facing dozens of seemingly irrelevant opponents, Karzai seemed contented to coast to reelection. His own indifference to the campaign may have been his downfall, however, as it has allowed rivals Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani to establish themselves as legitimate opposition candidates.
Unfortunately, with no reliable nationwide polling in Afghanistan, it is difficult to say exactly where the candidates stand. The opposition are already positioning themselves to accuse Karzai of fraud if he wins, but even forcing a run-off would likely be a major victory for his opponents.
Karzai is in a difficult position, facing criticism from opponents for his close ties to the US and international forces while at the same time those forces seem eager to cut him loose. He has promised if reelected to seek regulation of the foreign troops, but his ability to do so is in serious doubt.
Fo rthe past several weeks, James Carville has been "helping" Ashraf Ghani 'usurp' power from Hamid Karzai. Carville's presence in Afghanistan has been reported, but — to date no film or video detailing his advice to his client, Ghani, has suraced. Several years ago, Carville was ridiculed for his exploits in Bolivia where he and his US business partners: Stanley Greenberg and Jeremy Rosner were the subjects of a fly-on-the-wall documentary titled: Our Brand is Crisis. As a rule, Carville backs corporate heavyweights who can afford to pay his exorbitant fees. In the Bolivian campaign, Carville opposed the swelling popular movement led by Evo Morales that eventually swept US-backed corporate flunkies out of power and united with Hugo Chavez in their non-aligned opposition to American imperialism. Carville's agenda in Afghanistan remains obscure, but it is a dead cert that Ghani will be more pliable than Karzai who has opposed US and NATO missions that resulted in civilian casualties as well as plans to eradicate the poppy crop and target drug-traffickers. With Carville in the matrix, US policy in Afghanistan seems more chaotic than ever – perhaps, even approaching the 'crisis' of Bolivia. If so, expect an-anti-American reaction with the emergence of an indigenous culture hero to oust the foreigners from Afghanistan's troubled soil and unite in an anti-imperialist bloc with Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and other Middle-East and Central Asian nations tired of the imperial jackboot on their wind-pipes.