Afghan warlord re-emerges despite West's demands

Source: AP

KABUL -- He is among Afghanistan's most notorious warlords, accused of widespread abuses including the massacre of thousands of Taliban prisoners. Now he's back, reinstated by President Hamid Karzai in a top army post despite Western demands for sweeping reform.

Karzai this month restored Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum as chief of staff to the commander in chief of the Afghan army - a job he lost in 2008 after failing to cooperate in an investigation into the shooting of a rival.

Although the job has little real power, Western officials and Afghan human rights groups see the appointment as a sign that Karzai remains unable to shake off his ties to warlords and regional powerbrokers despite heavy international pressure for a new beginning as the U.S. and NATO ramp up the war against the Taliban.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Monday he would press Karzai to rescind the appointment when he meets with the Afghan leader during this week's international conference in London aimed at building support for the weak Afghan government.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012602076.html

...more like "is shoring them up for the coming storm."

Personally, I think he is already looking to the post-occupation situation, making sure he has the right sort of "friends".

ISTANBUL — Afghanistan's neighbours and Turkey on Tuesday backed President Hamid Karzai's plan to offer incentives to Taliban fighters to make them lay down arms, in a joint statement issued after talks here.

"We... support the Afghan national process of reconciliation and reintegration in accordance with the constitution of Afghanistan in a way that is Afghan-led and -driven," the statement said.

The talks were attended by Karzai, his counterparts from Pakistan and Turkey as well as senior officials from Iran, China, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

"Those Taliban who were not part of terrorist networks or Al-Qaeda are the sons of the Afghan soil," Karzai told reporters. "They are thousands and thousands and thousands and they have to be reintegrated."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hMSi_SAXbfoEePP2AbSX1-Ckz3tA

I'm starting to think something is up.