One of Afghanistan’s most famous politicians is, of course, Hamid Karzai. This man became famous for being the first freely elected president in the history of his country. Hamid Karzai, whose political views are criticized by many contemporaries, no matter what, always remained a sincere patriot of his country.
Who is Karzai
It is known that Afghanistan survived many military conflicts, interventions and incursions into its territory. Hamid Karzai, whose photo will be presented in our article, in his youth he took part in the war, protecting the territory of Afghanistan.
Having received this bitter military experience and never forgetting it, all the time, holding the presidency, he tried to prevent a second war and protect the sovereignty of his state by any means possible. He calls himself a staunch pacifist and believes that not a single issue can be truly resolved by military force.
Hamid Karzai: who is the nation, a brief curriculum vitae
This man is a native Afghan, he was born on this earth and belonged to the noble and ancient Pashtun family Popolzai. Hamid Karzai, born on December 24, 1957, was born in the small Afghan province of Kandahar. He grew up in the small village of Kurtz, but at the same time from childhood he had an idea of all the political processes that took place in his country.
This knowledge and early understanding of politics Karzai Hamid owed to his father - Abdul Karzai. This man was a member of the Afghan parliament and rendered all possible support to the king acting at that time. For some time in parliament, he even held the position of vice speaker. In addition, Karzai's father was the head of a fairly influential clan Popolzai, which had a significant influence on the country's politics. Many believe that Hamid’s political views were largely driven by his father’s influence.
Received education
Karzai Hamid went to first grade in Kandahar. A little later, the boy's family was forced to change his place of residence and move to Kabul. It was there that he graduated from Habibia High School. Those who were familiar with him in his school years recall that the boy studied quite successfully. He showed great interest in the Darwinian theory of evolution. He loved literature and preferred the works of Dickens, Chekhov and Dostoevsky. But the easiest way for a student was to give him natural sciences, especially chemistry, which he loved very much. Thanks to his irrepressible thirst for reading and knowledge, the young man learned 5 languages, including fluent in French and English. Over time, assessing his political activities, Karzai will be called the most educated Afghan leader.
After completing school, Hamid Karzai, whose biography will be discussed in detail in this article, decided to continue his studies and graduate. For admission, he was chosen by the Indian University of Himachal, which was located in Simla. Being influenced by his father, on the one hand, and on the basis of his own interests, already formed by then, on the other, Hamid wanted to study political science. He also graduated from the university very successfully and received a master's degree in political science.
Participation in the Soviet-Afghan war
After graduation, Hamid lived in Pakistan, and it was there that he found news of the beginning of the Soviet-Afghan war. The young politician began to provide financial assistance to the Mujahideen and arranged for them to supply arms. They say that it was then that he acquired ties with the American government and British intelligence. In addition to financial assistance, Hamid took a direct part in protecting the territory of his country. Returning to Afghanistan, he commanded guerrilla units.
Taliban related stories
After the USSR troops left Afghanistan, Karzai became a member of the moderate wing of the Afghan resistance. For a long time, he had good relations with the Taliban, since he believed that only they could restore order on Afghan soil.
Taliban members also showed loyalty, and once, having captured Kabul, they even offered him to become their representative in the UN. Hamid refused this offer, and with the advent of Osama bin Laden, his attitude to the organization has sharply cooled. Hamid Karzai realized that as long as this organization exists, there will be no end to the civil war on its land.
National recognition and official rise to power
In 2001, Karzai personally participated in an operation carried out by the Americans to liberate Kandahar from the Taliban. In 2002, the UN, considering the Afghan issue, decided to create an interim government, and Hamid was proposed to head it. This proposal was accepted by them.
Afghan statesman Hamid Karzai formally led the country in 2004. During the first free presidential election in the history of the state, a people tired of constant conflicts and civil war gave 55% of their votes for this person.
Assessment of his political activity is very mixed. His supporters say that during the reign of Karzai, Afghanistan really achieved success in developing education and restoring the economy. Opponents claim that these achievements do not relate solely to the results of the efforts of one president. Many political analysts say that in fact Karzai Hamid had power exclusively in Kabul. Outside this city, he practically did not possess it.
Despite different opinions, evaluating the work of Karzai, one cannot discount the difficult situation in Afghanistan. This person tried to improve the situation in his country as much as possible, as well as based on the resources that he possessed. During his reign, Afghanistan really became more democratic. For example, for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Karzai introduced several women to the state government, which previously was nonsense for this country.
Political strategy
Given the way this leader’s political career developed, many accused him of depending on the American government. Most opponents often criticized Karzai that, in fact, before becoming a popularly elected president, he was declared and appointed head of the transitional government by a special UN conference that decided the fate of Afghanistan in 2001.
Political analysts are more inclined to believe that Karzai, realizing the complexity of the situation in Afghanistan, was simply looking for any ways to solve his country's problems. For example, in 2002, speaking in Tokyo at a conference on the reconstruction of Afghanistan, he managed to achieve the allocation of $ 4 billion for his country.
For the sake of justice, it is also necessary to note the fact that, having become the head of state, Hamid did not allow himself to introduce a line of full support for the policies of Western countries on the territory of Afghanistan. The same was true for the United States, which deployed troops on the territory of Karzai. Largely due to such an internal policy, Hamid Karzai enjoyed the support of the common population, whose fears about the coming to power of the “pro-American” candidate remained in vain.
He showed his sincere patriotism in 2008, when he began to openly criticize the military anti-terrorist operations conducted by the Americans on Afghan territory. Karzai Hamid has repeatedly made statements that it is time to stop the casualties among the civilian population that appear each time as a result of American "peacekeeping" operations.
Re-election
In 2009, new elections were held in Afghanistan. Karzai Hamid was re-elected president, and on November 19, 2009, he took a second oath. The elections were accompanied by various intrigues, gossip and scandals. After the first round, Karzai was accused of falsification. His main competitor - Abdullah Abdullah - refused to participate in the second round, because this venture was previously considered a losing one. There was much talk that Karzai Hamid would win anyway, as the Americans would help him in this at any cost.
A year later, in 2010, a situation occurred that once again made many doubt Karzai’s "unconditional submission to America." A resonant report was published in The New York Times stating that the President of Afghanistan received a huge amount of funding from the Iranian government. Karzai Hamid did not deny this fact and said that he would gladly accept and would accept money for the development of his country from all "friendly countries", starting from America and ending with Iran.
President's departure
In 2014, this man voluntarily resigned after holding the presidency for about 12 years. Many attribute this to the fact that Karzai understood better than anyone else the hopeless situation of Afghanistan. The economy of this country has been undermined by many years of civil wars, the majority of the population lives on the brink of poverty, and to remain without US funding for this country could mean the onset of collapse. But everyone around us understands that “friendly material assistance” is just the “payment” of the USA for the deployment of its military bases in Afghanistan.
Hamid Karzai made it clear that the issue with the Taliban remained unresolved, the US could not restore the promised order, but they were not going to leave the Afghan territories. Not wanting to take responsibility for cooperation with the United States anymore and at the same time not daring to interrupt it, Hamid Karzai chose to resign with dignity.