Afghanistan "election" fiasco

"The Taliban gleefully claimed that the election had been decided in Washington and London. Most independent observers would concur. Days before Dr Abdullah threw in the towel, a Western diplomat said “we are already looking forward to Mr Karzai’s inauguration speech.” Despite the collective blind eye they turned to a fraudulent election, America and its allies want that speech to outline a crackdown on corruption....America has let it be known that, despite Mr Karzai’s proven deftness in shirking tasks his foreign paymasters regard as essential, it is now prepared to get tough. But there are few ideas about how it can impose its will on Mr Karzai without damaging its own interests. Any threat, for example, to make reconstruction money conditional would probably never be carried out for fear of further alienating ordinary Afghans. And another implied threat—the deferral of a decision on whether or not to send the 40,000 extra troops requested by NATO’s commander, Stanley McChrystal—cannot be maintained much longer."