TIME TO CLIP … The Hairs that Wag the Tail that Wags the Dog

President Karzai’s brother, Ahmed Wali, stuffs ballot boxes so his brother can retain power; profits from opium sales; plays US forces off against the Taliban; buys up land that the US will need to stage operations, then rents it to us; profiting at every turn. Increasingly, President Karzai has convinced himself that the US wants to occupy Afghanistan permanently, but resists any talk of our leaving. Unhappy that the Electoral Complaints Commission found wide irregularities in the August election, throwing out a third of the ballots, Karzai decided to appoint all five members of the commission himself.

Angered by signs of corruption impossible to ignore, Obama uninvited Karzai to Washington. (If you’re going to be corrupt, don’t be so obvious!) To show his pique, Karzai invites Iran’s President Ahmadinejad to Afghanistan, who then proceeds to deliver a virulently anti-American speech, with a smiling Karzai looking on.

Now, President Karzai bitterly blame the UN monitors for electoral irregularities!  Is this an elaborate dance or has is he just losing it?

Meanwhile, Americans are dying in Helmand province while Afghan troops bring up the rear. And that’s just a warm up for things to come, as US and Afghan forces prepare to take Kandihar.

Lyricist Tyron Wells said it best - “… What are we fighting for?”

Then there’s Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu thumbs his nose at America, his strongest ally, by announcing new settlements in East Jerusalem just as VP Biden is there to reaffirm America’s eternal commitment to Israel. Then, arriving in Washington days later, Netanyahu makes a combative speech at AIPAC, the powerful American Israeli Lobby, reaffirming Israel intention to build and expand settlements, even though, as any one outside of Israel can see, peace talks, even “proximity” talks, will never happen as long as settlement activity continues.

These developments clearly annoyed Preident Obama. So, the President dines along, leaving Netanyahu to cool his heals. Upon arriving home, an indignant Israeli press and the prime minister himself complains about the chilly reception Netanyahu got at the White House.

Then Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, unhappy with election results, bitterly contests the election by conspiring to disqualify backers of his opponent, former Prime Minister Ayad Alawi. It turns out that, behind the scenes, our “old buddy”, Ahmed Chalabi, the very Chalabi who misled us into the Iraq war in 2003, controls the election commission and, it turns out, is closely aligned with the Iranians. Now the Iranians are playing the role of powerbroker in Iraq.

“… What are we fighting for?”

Are we propping up Iraq and Afghanistan long enough for them to walk on their own, only to have them run to Iran for succor? Should we just start packing our bags, pass out “mission accomplished!” stickers, and, like the affluent parents of ungrateful prodigy, pretend to feel good that they are advocating for themselves.

As long as we’re building roads, schools, hospitals, providing security and propping up their economies, we’re tolerated – but don’t mistake it for love.

I think we’ll just have to accept that they’re adults now. Let them pick their own friends. Time to start withholding child support. (We’re stretched too thin; we need to think about retirement – of our national debt.) It’s for their own good. But don’t expect them write home any time soon.

Maybe the best exit strategy is to get thrown out by the nascent regimes of both countries, and stop worrying about who they call friend afterwards. After all, it’s not as if we don’t need to attend to a few domestic priorities. As the passage of the healthcare bill demonstrates, getting a few bills passed at home goes a long way towards improving our image abroad.

American will have a hard time coming to terms with our diminished influence in the world. But joining the international bread line as a third rate power might prove the greatest humiliation of all.