R.I.P. Peter Galbraith

Earlier, I wrote an article about the irony and inconsistency surrounding the recent Afghan elections. The unofficial tally has incumbent Hamid Karzai sitting at 54.6%, and nearest competitor Dr. Abdullah Abdullah at 27.8%. That's not fishy at all, unless you remember that nobody likes Hamid Karzai.

The problem is that we have reports of widespread corruption, election fraud, vote rigging, and schoolyard taunts. There is enough proof of election fraud on Hamid Karzai's part to justify an investigation. Hell, there is enough proof of election fraud to justify an entirely new election. So why is it that U.N. Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan Peter Galbraith fired for suggesting this?

Do I even need a punchline here? This is one of the clearest cases of foreign policy meddling I have ever seen. Hamid Karzai is a infinitely controllable little puppet, and it's in the U.S. government's best interest to keep him in power. That's reason enough to hamper investigations into this blatantly rigged election, and ruin the career of a man who's served his country for 30 years.

Does anyone remember when the government used to be subtle in it's meddling? Oh wait... Never mind.

We don't need no water, let the motherf**ker burn...

Abu Ghraib. Originally, Saddam Hussein used it to house political prisoners and commit acts of torture.
After the U.S. invaded Iraq, the Americans used it for the exact same purpose; this time in the name of "freedom". It was only after pictures of detainee abuse by American troops surfaced that it was shut down.

Now the prison is open again, back in Iraqi hands. Same old story, only this time it's being renovated to hold five times as many prisoners as it held during Saddam's rule. Guess what? Some people are pissed.

It's okay to commit fraud... When?

Does anyone remember not too long ago, when Iran's national election results came in? The incumbent won re-election by landslide, despite being unpopular both locally and abroad. Remember the allegations of fraud, the massive protests? The western media was in outrage at the idea of a rigged election, and gleefully took that opportunity to bash Iran's leaders.

Now, we sit at the conclusion of Afghanistan's national elections. A strange sense of deja vu permeates here. Again, we have a very unpopular incumbent running for re-election. But yet again, this person was shown to have a great many more votes. Again, accusations of fraud abound. At least 600 serious cases of it.

So where is the outrage of the western world? Where are the cries in protest of this affront to fledgling democracy? The difference is that the man accused of fraud in this case is Hamid Karzai, America's puppet in Afghanistan. The media seems very quiet this time around. Huh.