A12 The World karzai from A1
can hope for is that Karzai, who heads a provincial council, will stand aside and let Kandahar’s governor, Tooryalai Wesa, be- come a bigger player in the prov- ince’s bare-knuckled politics. But some American officials say it is naive to think that Ahmed Wali Karzai will loosen his grip on Kandahar, where Afghan police commanders live in fear of cross- ing him. Of the 900 new po- licemen headed to the city this summer, Karzai recently claimed 250 of them for the provincial council, and 110 of these as per- sonal bodyguards, a senior U.S. official said. Karzai certainly has influence.
He wields his power in cellphone calls and endless meetings with everyone from cabinet ministers to American generals to peasants. Since he returned to Afghanistan in 1992, after 10 years in the Unit- ed States, he has demonstrated an ability to get results where others in the Afghan government fail. “I know how to talk to the peo-
ple,” Karzai said humbly. “I know how to deal with these tribes. I know what their needs are. I know how to address their needs. This is the skill I have learned.”
Power and perception
Ahmed Wali Karzai has long been a source of friction within the U.S. government. He has long- standing ties to the CIA and has reportedly been paid by the agen- cy for providing security forces and safe houses in and around Kandahar. “He’s a key tribal leader,” a U.S.
official said earlier this year. “If you take out Karzai, you don’t have good governance, you have no governance. He’s done very good things for the United States. He’s effective.” Karzai’s critics within the American military acknowledge that there is little conclusive evi- dence against the powerbroker, as the weakness of the March briefing demonstrated. The fact that Karzai remains in power means that anything related to him is politically sensitive, and U.S. officials would speak about him only on the condition of ano- nymity. The critics say they have little doubt that Karzai is involved in the opium trade, and some esti- mate that he receives millions of dollars a year in illicit income. The widespread perception in Af- ghanistan is that Karzai is com- plicit in the kind of industrial- strength corruption that has left Afghan people furious with their government.
Karzai, who is married and has four children, was born in Kanda- har City and moved to the United States in 1982, where he lived in Maryland and Virginia before moving to Chicago to run an Af- ghan restaurant. Called “agha mama,” or “father
uncle,” by his guards, Karzai now lives in a relatively modest house with a marble facade on a barri- caded street manned by police in downtown Kandahar City. On a typical day, supplicants by the dozens file upstairs to where he sits, barefoot, in a carpeted room
ringed with tan couches and hung with rose-print drapes. One recent morning, he greet- ed 73 people in two hours. Some knelt before him. Some kissed his hand. One handed him a note that he read and then tore into shreds. The first meeting was with two women from Zabul province who wanted his blessing to run for parliament. He agreed, with a condition. “Please do not men-
tion my name,” he said. “There are many people who want my support.”
One group of villagers came to ask for a police checkpoint, fol- lowed by another group that re- quested their checkpoint be re- moved. Nine tribal elders needed his approval for the guest list of an important assembly. A young truck driver begged for a job rec- ommendation — “if you’ll just sign this letter” — while an old
man pleaded for his son’s release from American custody. “Is he in the Taliban?” Karzai
asked, thumbing yellow prayer beads in his left hand. “Yes,” the old man said. “I cannot do anything now,” Karzai said. “Come on Saturday and we will talk.” In these meetings, Karzai made
an effort to refer those seeking help to others — to the governor, the police chief, the intelligence
PHOTOS BY ANDREA BRUCE FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
“If you take out Karzai, you don’t have good governance, you have no
governance.” — U.S. official
Villagers consult Ahmed Wali Karzai daily, whether about jobs, police checkpoints or a guest list for a local assembly.
service. But he was not always successful. “You’re the only real man in the government,” one man told him. “You have the power. I’ll always keep coming to you.”
Fingers pointed at him This month, Karzai shut down
the 15-member provincial council in a fit of pique after the Afghan army accused him of seizing gov- ernment land. He’s also widely thought to control the selection of district leaders and police chiefs in the province. An out- going U.S. battalion commander, Lt. Col. Reik Andersen, said he be- lieved that Karzai helped oust a district governor, Niaz Moham- mad Sarhadi, because the gover- nor took a stand against corrup- tion.
Karzai lumps all these allega- tions into what he sees as a smear campaign by his family’s political
enemies. After nine years of accu- sations, he said wearily, he’s de- tected a pattern. Whatever the is- sue of the day — drug trafficking, corruption, private security com- panies, NATO contracts — the fin- ger is pointed at him. He reads all his press clippings. “It’s ridiculous,” he said. “It’s all our Afghan internal problem, in- ternal politics.’’ Karzai looked at his watch. It was noon. He stood up, hurried out of the room and slipped into the back seat of a white armored Land Cruiser. Two Kalashnikovs rested by his side. After several assassination at- tempts, he does not like to make appointments or telegraph his movements. Three minutes later, his four- truck convoy pulled up at Mandi- gak palace, where the provincial council holds its meetings. The attorney general agreed to lead an investigation into the land con- fiscation issue. This satisfied Kar- zai, who was convinced the in- quiry would clear his name. “In front of the media, I want to
say that if I have ever confiscated one handful of land, I am ready to be brought to justice,” Karzai said, addressing the television cameras. “The authorities should treat me like an ordinary Afghan.”
partlowj@washpost.com
Staff writer Greg Miller in Washington, and correspondent Ernesto Londoño and special correspondent Javed Hamdard, both in Afghanistan, contributed to this report.
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