Peter Galbraith Fired for Speaking Out on Afghan Election Fraud
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James Joyner | Thursday, October 1, 2009 |
The UN’s number two official in Afghanistan, Peter Galbraith, has been fired after a clash with head of mission Kai Eide over how to handle fraud in the recent presidential elections. Galbraith alleges that Eide is covering up massive corruption for reasons of expediency.
My New Atlanticist essay, “Galbraith Fired, Refused to Hide Afghanistan Election Fraud” rounds up the reporting on this story and concludes:
It should be noted that Eide heatedly rejects these charges and that senior UN leaders contend that the role Galbraith envisioned went well beyond the UNAMA mandate. It’s rather clear, however, that in attempting to be “neutral,” Eide and his team have essentially been forced to ignore obvious fraud. That, combined with the fact that the Obama administration has apparently decided that they have no choice but to recognize Karzai as the winner of the election, stolen or not, left Galbraith in an untenable position.
If it were possible for my esteem for the UN to drop further, it would. As it is, it’s just another check in the “Nothing more can be accomplished here” column.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Fraud and corruption are usually the big reasons many societies especially the great ones collapse. The “peasants” lose faith in their government and it is all downhill after that. The U.N. was a great idea but has shown to be corrupted and ineffective. One of the biggest problems we had in Vietnam was tolerating a corrupt government. The greatest threat for the U.S. is corruption. I am not sure exactly how to address some of them such as multimillion book deals and speaking engagements for ex Presidents and their families or paying voters for votes by using taxpayers money but I hope someone finds a way.
My interpretation of this incident is that Galbraith's crime is not so much what he was saying but the way he said it. Lèse majesté.
It does highlight the fundamental conundrum of our Afghanistan policy. As I understand it counter-insurgency consists in maintaining the support of the people for an existing government. Is that really the case in Afghanistan?
Now we know what it takes to get fired from the UN. Stealing, corruption, embezzlement, failing to supervise people who repeatedly molest minors while on peace keeping missions, nah.
Got it. Glad to have clarity.
I think the UN may be starting to outlive its usefulness.
Are all the Viagra ads surrounding this post a clever comment on the impotence of the UN?
Anyway, we cannot be seen to be supporting a corrupt regime, or the mission in Afghanistan will fail. Karzai needs to go, and the US needs to push him out, if needed.
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