I Would Rather Fail And Be Honorable

Not many people would want the job: Afghanistan’s economy and infrastructure are a mess, warlords are hungrily waiting to carve out their own fiefdoms and residual elements of the Taliban and Al Qaeda are attempting to regroup. Last week, NEWSWEEK’s Babak Dehghanpisheh met with Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul.

NEWSWEEK: Many Afghans were upset by the presence of warlords at the recent Loya Jirga. Is it your policy to include this group in the government?

Hamid Karzai: I plan to deliver to the Afghan people what they ask of me. They want a central government and that authority has to serve them. All those people who are willing to come and contribute to the process of nation-building are welcome here. I’m not here to promote regionalism. I’m not here to promote warlordism. I will not do that. I would rather not be here than see the country go through that. I want to have a country that’s run by law not by personal militias.

Will the armed groups controlled by warlords be integrated into the national army?

There cannot be a separate army. There cannot be separate armed groups. That’s very, very certain. And I’m asking the international community to deliver their promises on that. I will not spend a single second waiting for that. If I realize I’m failing there I will quit. I don’t want to go into Afghan history with a bad name. I would rather fail and be honorable than be corrupted and infamous.

So they will merge with the national army?

They have to. Or else they’re renegades and they’re rebels, and we’ll go after them.

Members of the dominant Pashtun ethnic group are dissatisfied with the number of Tajiks who are in top- and mid-level governmental positions.

We have created a commission. A civil-service commission that will handle a lot of these things. There has to be a proper distribution of posts for all the people. And we must have an efficient and proper administration.

One of the topics discussed during the Loya Jirga was the creation of a parliament, or shura. Was this issue resolved?

I think the time was too short for such a complicated subject for all of the delegates to get together. I don’t want to intervene in parliamentary affairs. I feel very uncomfortable doing that. At times, I was criticized by members of the Loya Jirga for not intervening. It’s not in my nature. It wouldn’t be parliament then, it would be a presidential council or something. But we do need to have some sort of representation in this country to be accountable. Otherwise we may be accused of behaving like warlords. There has to be some checks and balances.

Several of your cabinet members have recently returned from exile in America. Have any neighboring governments, like Iran, expressed a concern about the influence these American returnees may have?

The Iranians have been as cooperative as the Americans. During the Loya Jirga, they cooperated very well. And the Iranian president [Mohammed Khatami] was the first to call to congratulate me.

You’re in a very sensitive position by having good relations with both Iran and the United States. Can you play a part in bringing them together?

I wish I could do that. Iran and America are both friends of Afghanistan. They both played an important role in supporting the Loya Jirga.

Did either put you under any pressure?

No. They’ve both said that their own relationship will not affect their relations with Afghanistan.

Do you feel there’s a greater threat now to your personal security?

I can bring in troops anytime that I want. But that’s not the way I want Afghanistan to be. I want Afghanistan to be built with institutions. To be free of private armies. If I bring 5,000 troops here it would not help this country it would hurt it. I would rather be killed here by somebody than bring my own army. I don’t want that kind of thing.

There are three things you’re never supposed to ask Afghans about-amin (land), zar (gold) and zan (women). Can you break this taboo and give some background about your wife?

She’s a gynecologist and will be starting work at a hospital here in Kabul soon. She’s been in Kabul for three or four months.