Hamid Karzai deserves prize for brazen cheek

The conservative daily Die Welt comments on the controversial presidential elections in Afghanistan: "The Afghan elections were an embarrassment for all concerned. Incumbent Hamid Karzai deserves first prize in the category of brazen cheek. He really did think the international community would be ready to pay billions of dollars to rebuild the country's statehood, putting at risk the lives of their soldiers and countrymen, just for the pleasure of watching Karzai answer the talk of building democratic structures with brazen manipulation and lies. But Nato, the United Nations and the Americans also have much to blame themselves for. Because even if it was clear in the run-up to the elections that they would be subject to fraud, they did little to ensure fair balloting or put the running of the election in international hands. And the UN lost additional credibility when Kai Eide, the UN Special Representative to Afghanistan, tried to cover up the electoral scandal for as long as possible."

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