FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
As President Obama weighs whether to send as many as 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan - the government we're supporting over there continues to become more of a joke. President Hamid Karzai has been declared the winner in the disputed election; after his chief challenger Abdullah Abdullah dropped out of the runoff that would have happened Saturday.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/03/art.karzai.jpg caption="Afghan President Hamid Karzai addresses a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul."]
Abdullah was calling for the resignations of top election officials to avoid the kind of fraud that happened in the first election. Didn't happen.
Faced with a transparently phony situation, President Obama is calling for "a new chapter" of improved governance in Afghanistan now that Karzai's re-election is complete. He really doesn't have much of a choice.
Mr. Obama says that Karzai has to take on the rampant corruption and drug trade - which he hasn't done so far and has helped the Taliban make its comeback.
Fat chance... maybe Karzai's brother - a suspected player in Afghanistan's illegal opium business and also suspected of rigging those August elections - could head up the Afghan Ethics Committee.
With each new development our presence in Afghanistan looks more and more futile. And it's no surprise that Afghan political experts along with regular citizens there say the elections have undermined the people's faith in democracy.
Meanwhile President Karzai vows that he will stamp out corruption and work with the Taliban. But even the Taliban isn't buying that - calling the election a fraud manufactured by Washington. Just what we need as our troops continue to die in that godforsaken place and more of them could be going there soon.
Here’s my question to you: Should the U.S. place its faith in Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Greg from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania writes:
I wouldn’t. All the more reason to re-assign our combat troops to eradicate the poppy fields, help the farmers plant pomegranates and then work with the U.N. in providing aid to the REAL Afghan people. Helping the Afghan people is the way to success, sending more men to fight and die only pours more gas on the flames and helps the Taliban and al Qaeda to look like the good guys.
David writes:
No. He is a mindless, unethical, power grubbing mouse. He will turn his back on us as soon as we leave and we would have spent billions of dollars and thousands of lives for nothing. Level the place and leave! Tell them and the world that if you try to attack the U.S. again, your fate will be the same.
Darren writes:
How many corrupt governments is the U.S. going to prop up in the Middle East on their costly nation-building tour?
Gus from California writes:
Not really. First, remind him of the fate of Pres. Diem in Viet Nam, and that we have a history of standing aside for the assassination of corrupt and ineffective leaders. There is also no reason why we cannot manage the Afghan elections… You do not have to stand still for poor government when you are the only reason they can exist.
Scott writes:
Jack, I think we have little choice but to trust Karzai. We shouldn't give up on bringing bin Laden to justice. I'm always appalled when Americans say we should end the war and bring troops home. Should we just give al Qaeda a free pass? They continue today to plot, plan and execute another attack on American soil. Let’s just work with Karzai and hold Karzai accountable for making progress in Afghanistan.
Bernard writes:
Gather the 15 to 20 tribal leaders in Afghanistan together in a room and offer them a deal: either get rid of al Qaeda or we'll take some Agent Orange left over from Vietnam and destroy the entire poppy crop and your claim to fame and fortune.
Karl from San Francisco writes:
I have as much faith in Karzai cleaning up crime and corruption in Afghanistan as I would have had in Al Capone cleaning up crime and corruption in Chicago. He’s the problem, not the solution.