White House Press Briefing June 8

Obama and Karzai talked this morning on the transition process slated to begin next month. Jay Carney gives the rundown on their conversation at the top:

Readout of Obama's Call With Afghan President Karzai

From the White House:

President Obama spoke with President Karzai today via video teleconference. The two leaders spoke for approximately one hour and discussed a range of topics, including transition to Afghan security lead, our ongoing strategic partnership negotiations, and the Koran burning and the violence that followed in Afghanistan. President Obama welcomed President Karzai’s March 22, 2011, announcement of the first tranche of provinces and municipalities to begin transition to Afghan lead. The two leaders agreed on the importance of reestablishing peace in Afghanistan through progress on transition, an enduring U.S.-Afghan strategic partnership, and reconciliation.

Both leaders deplored the desecration of the Koran, strongly condemned the April 1 attack on UNAMA in Mazar-e-Sharif and expressed deep regret for the tragic loss of life. The two Presidents were clear that to attack and kill innocent people is an affront to human decency and dignity. Both leaders agreed that now is a time for our two nations to come together, in the pursuit of common values and common goals.

Obama's Video Conference With Karzai

This is a March 3 readout from the White House:

President Obama spoke with President Karzai yesterday via video teleconference. The two leaders spoke for approximately one hour and discussed a number of topics, including the beginning of transition to Afghan security lead, the renewal of the U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Declaration, and the beginning of U.S. troop reductions in July. Both leaders agreed that the United States and Afghanistan should continue to work together to advance a political outcome to the war in Afghanistan and President Obama reaffirmed his support for an Afghan-led political process. The two leaders agreed on the importance of resolving the issues facing Kabul Bank. President Obama expressed his deep regret for the tragic accident in Kunar Province in which nine Afghans were killed. The President conveyed his condolences to the Afghan people and stressed that he and General Petraeus take such incidents very seriously. President Obama and President Karzai agreed that such incidents undermine our shared efforts in fighting terrorism.

President Obama met with his national security team today for his regular monthly meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan. President Obama received an update on our regional diplomatic efforts, including the successful meeting of the International Contact Group on Afghanistan hosted by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The President underscored the importance of continued international support for peace and stability in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, specifically support for Afghan-led reconciliation. The President received an update on the security situation on the ground, including our efforts to prevent civilian casualties and sustain the gains that have been made over the last several months. Finally, the President and his team reviewed our efforts to advance the transition process that was embraced in Lisbon, with the transition to Afghan-lead beginning this year, U.S. troop reductions beginning in July, and the transition to Afghan lead being completed by the end of 2014.

Hillary Clinton's Speech in Afghanistan July 20 Video

Meet the Press Roundtable on Afghanistan

Meet the Press roundtable was pretty good this morning, especially Sebastian Junger, Wes Moore and Tom Hick's comments. Junger has a new movie and a new book out. I wish the conversation could've been longer.

As humans, we shouldn't be in Afghanistan at all. War damages every human spirit. Soldiers get the full physical, mental and spiritual impact of war. The most ignorant thing we do is send soldiers off to war, break their spirits and then expect them to return to normalcy when they come home.

No war is ever "won." You can't win a war because if it costs one single life, then it can never be a win. The McChrystal debacle, in my mind, illustrates the idiocy of war.

But there are real world realities. Human beings do really dumb things. There are terrorists out there.

One of our nation's biggest blunders is invading Iraq and letting Afghanistan languish. We've helped to create a disaster in which there are no good solutions. Afghanistan's own leader, the loathsome Hamid Karzai, stands in the way of progress. Hicks says Karzai's government is the biggest problem in Afghanistan. But he says the biggest mistake would be to leave Afghanistan. Nothing is right in Afghanistan. It almost seems hopeless there.

A couple of good reads and two opposing opinions on Afghanistan today, one by Andrew Bacevich here and another by Tom Ricks here.

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Readout of Obama's Call with Karzai

Hopefully, Karzai has it clear in his mind now that the Commander in Chief runs the show, not the general. Apparently, Karzai has already switched loyalties. Now Gen. David Petraeus is his man. If you couldn't tell, I loathe Karzai. There's something about him that screams skeezy, icky and yuck.

In a call earlier today, President Obama informed President Karzai of his decision to accept General Stanley McChrystal’s resignation and his intent to nominate General David Petraeus to assume command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Both leaders expressed admiration and praise for General McChrystal’s leadership and service over the past year. President Obama underscored that this personnel change in no way impacts United States policy in Afghanistan or the level of our commitment to Afghanistan’s future. The President also emphasized that the United States and Afghanistan must continue to work together to sustain the momentum against the Taliban building on the constructive VTC that the two leaders held yesterday. President Karzai welcomed the nomination of General Petraeus and assured President Obama that he would take all steps necessary to support a successful transition.

Obama also called David Cameron:

Following up on earlier conversations between their national security teams, President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron spoke today on Afghanistan. The Prime Minister confirmed that U.K. Lieutenant General Nick Parker would serve as the acting Commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force mission until a new U.S. Commander is confirmed by Congress. The President reiterated his desire for the Senate to confirm General David Petraeus for this role as swiftly as possible. Prime Minister Cameron said that General Parker, who has served as the Deputy Commander to ISAF since September, 2009, asked him to convey to the President that the mission “would not miss a beat” and that he was fully confident in our shared strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Politically Obama Loses if he Fires or Keeps McChrystal

Politically, if Obama fires McChrystal he loses and if he keeps McChrystal he loses.

Politics aside, what is the best for the military and the nation?

I think that's how Obama will make his decision. Can the mission go on without Stan?

Perhaps Stan is having mental health issues. Perhaps he's suffering PTSD.

Without a doubt, Stan picked the wrong time to get liquored up for a Rolling Stone interview. Obama is contending with the huge oil disaster, a recovering economy and a number of other pressing matters.

I find it hard to believe that McChrystal is hard to replace. Our military leadership bench can't be that shallow, at least I would hope not. I know that Hamid Karzai will miss his buddy and has already vouched for him, which raises my suspicions about McChrysta'sl coziness with the corrupt Karzai.

Speaking like little boys for public consumption undermined the entire military and put lives at risk. If that's the way they talk in private, that's fine. But it shouldn't be for attribution in a major magazine article.

I'd fire him, but I don't know the ramifications of firing him.

Afghanistan Could be Saudi Arabia of Lithium

Imagine if this new found wealth was used to educate and liberate the women of Afghanistan and bring peace to the region. But it will probably only make matters worse. Greed always gets the best us.

The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.

An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and Blackberries. NYT

Karzai the Wily Survivor

An interesting look at the motivations of Hamid Karzai:

Karzai Visits Arlington Cemetery

Karzai also gets a tour of the Senate.

Obama and Karzai Press Conference May 11

Obama said civilian casualties aren't a political issue: We have an interest in preventing civilian casualties because "I don't want civilians killed." Full video:

Obama's Schedule May 12

Today is Karzai day.

At 10:15 am eastern, Obama meets with Hamid Karzai.

At 11:15 am, they'll hold a joint press conference

At 12:25, Obama lunches with Karzai.

Obama's Schedule May 11

Obama has a day full of meetings, no public announcements or speeches.
At 11:20 am eastern, Obama meets with senior advisors, then he'll have lunch with Joe Biden. Then Obama and Biden meet with Hillary at 1:25 pm, and then that group meets with Karl Eikenberry at 1:45 pm.
At 2:15, Obama meets with Sen. Patrick Leahy, who chairs the judicial committee, so the meeting probably has to do with Kagan's nomination. Leahy will be on This Week on Sunday.
At 4:30 pm, Obama and Biden meet with Stanley McChrystal and Robert Gates.

Obama's getting ready for his meeting with Hamid Karzai on Wednesday.

Karzai Visits White House May 12

Via Politico:

Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s May 12 visit is “absolutely” happening, said National Security Council chief of staff Denis McDonough. Jones called Karzai a “strategic partner” and said a letter from Obama was delivered to him this week, thanking him for his hospitality when Obama visited Afghanistan.

Another tidbit from the AF1 gaggle with Obama's security advisers:

National Security Adviser Jim Jones said the White House understands that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can’t attend next week’s nuclear summit because it will coincide with a day for remembering the Holocaust. The deputy prime minister will attend instead.

Cummings Speaks on Karzai's Motivations

Elijah Cummings says that Karzai is trying to speak to two different audiences:

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Giving Karzai the Mushroom Treatment

In the way that conservatives have started shadow organizations to avoid Michael Steele, the U.S. could go around the obstinate Hamid Karzai who seems to be pissy because he is for once being held accountable.
It makes me sick that Karzai doesn't recognize the sacrifice from the U.S. and other nations to root out terrorists in Afghanistan. But there is history and U.S. foreign policy helped make Afghanistan the corrupt, terrorist-prone nation that it is. The Afghan people have suffered severely.

Ultimately, U.S. foreign policy created Karzai and encouraged the growth of terrorism. Karzai has that to hang over our heads. Now, Obama's in a pickle. He can't withdraw now because the U.S. promised to help the Afghan people. It just so happens that their leader is far from optimal. But Karzai sure did a good job of stirring up the Obama critics in America, which may have been the purpose of his irrational statements, though at least one person seems to think Karzai is in need of drug rehab. Bing West, an author who served in the defense department in in the Reagan administration, has an interesting idea:

The problem with building a new and better Afghanistan is that, above the local level, President Karzai has long held the levers of political power by controlling provincial finances and leadership appointments, including those of police chiefs. Regardless of the coalition’s success at the district level, an obdurate and erratic Mr. Karzai is an obstacle to progress.

The success in Marja, however, changed the dynamics of the conflict. It now seems that the planned surge of 30,000 additional troops will likely achieve progress in “clearing and holding” Kandahar and other Taliban-controlled areas by mid-2011. At that time, the force ratio will be one coalition soldier for every three Afghan soldiers and policemen, and the Afghan Army will still rely upon us for firepower and moral support.

Ideally, we could then begin to withdraw major American units and leave behind small task forces that combine advisory and combat duties, leading to a new ratio of about one American to 10 Afghans. Not only would this bring our troops home, but it would shift the responsibility for nation-building to Afghan forces.

At the same time, we would have to pivot our policy in two ways. First, Mr. Karzai should be treated as a symbolic president and given the organizational “mushroom treatment” — that is, we should shut off the flows of information and resources directly to the national government. Read the whole editorial by Bing West here.

Here's another take from Sen. Ted Kaufman of Delaware who met with Karzai recently. He says Karzai is faced with change and change is hard. Kaufman says Karzai has a lot of varied concerns:

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Karzai May Need Drug Rehab

Peter Galbraith, fired by the U.N., is a major Hamid Karzai critic. Lately, Karzai has been ranting against the U.S., threatening to join the taliban. Just exactly how much money are we spending in Afghanistan?

Who really knows what's going on there, but after I saw this Al Jazeera video of Karzai's defense administer openly mocking Obama for his "over elaborated" decision on whether to send troops to Afghanistan as Stanley McChrystal laughed, I knew that something was awry in Afghanistan. Karzai appears to think of himself as entitled and he seems resentful that he's being held accountable by the Obama administration. He's not getting the free ride that he had under George Bush. Galbraith says Karzai may be a drug user.
Here's an update from Jake Tapper, following Robert Gibbs press briefing today:

Said Gibbs: "There are times in which the actions that he takes are constructive to governance. I would say that the remarks he’s made I can’t imagine that anyone in this country found them anything other than troubling.

"So our position on this, Jake, is that when the Afghan leaders take steps to improve governance and root out corruption, then the president will say kind words," Gibbs said. "When leaders need to hear stern language from this administration about the consequences of not acting, we’ll do that as well." more at ABC

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Obama's Interview With Matt Lauer March 29

Update March 30: See Obama's full interview with Matt Lauer here.

On healthcare:

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Obama says Karzai is listening but the progress is too slow:

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Karzai Uncomfortable Around Obama

Afghanistan is getting so much aid and yet Karzai's government remains corrupt. For once, someone is holding Hamid Karzai to account, which makes any corrupt person squirm.

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Karzai's Audacity in Seeking Military Aid for 15 Years

Where did I read that Hamid Karzai's corrupt government is smuggling money outside of the country? Oh yeah, I read that here. Karzai is the Bernie Madoff of Afghanistan. He needs to figure out how Afghanistan can produce its own revenue--without killing the people of Russia with opium--and stop demanding money. I feel bad for the Afghanis because Karzai is the worst kind of leader.