When asked in 2010 about his opinion of the American drone war in Pakistan, presumably the type of across-the-border military activity he might support, Karzai said in an interview with The Washington Post that his nature is “not one that appreciates military. I’m not a pro-gun person, I don’t like guns or airplanes, so I can never talk in favorable terms about planes that are shooting people or bombing people, so you’ll have to ask a more hard-core fellow. I’m a soft-core fellow.”
His day-to-day activities as president, which many have described as more akin to those of a tribal chief than a modern head of state, often involve meeting large groups of villagers and tribal elders who come to Kabul to air their grievances. The years of hearing stories of wrongful killing and imprisonment, stories that sometimes have brought him to tears, have also informed his thinking.
“People come and complain, saying, ‘Americans are killing our children, and you’re responsible,’ ” one current palace official said. “He’s caught between the international community and his people. And people are tired of accepting this.”
Loading...
Comments