UConn James Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 (edited) http://www.courant.com/news/nation-world/sns-rt-us-afghanistan-karztre76b0ze-20110712,0,98778.story Ahmad Wali Karzai's assassination will leave a dangerous power vacuum in volatile Kandahar province, the Taliban's birthplace and a focus of recent efforts by a surge of U.S. troops to turn the tide against the insurgency. He was accused of corruption and ties to the opium trade, but always denied any wrongdoing and was strongly supported by his brother whose influence he shored up in the south. ... The killing is also likely to alarm Western military and civilian officials, despite misgivings they had about Karzai's role and reach, because it comes at a time when they are trying to map out their departure from Afghanistan. "It's a big blow for the whole exit strategy because even though he was a controversial figure...I think the Americans and the British were extremely dependent on him for keeping a lot of these very prominent Pashtun tribes in line and not going over to the Taliban," he said. Edited July 12, 2011 by UConn James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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