Today's AfPak round-up:
Karzai blasts WikiLeaks for "shocking," "irresponsible" release of Afghan informers' identities. Included in the thousands of classified documents released by WikiLeaks Sunday were the names of Afghans who assisted NATO forces—Afghans whose lives are now "in danger," the Afghan president said Thursday. U.S. officials say they lack the resources to protect the Afghans named by WikiLeaks from Taliban assassins, as many reside in insurgent-controlled areas. [WashPo]
Rove: Obama should be in it to win it. While President Obama has "acted impressively so far on Afghanistan," the only way to reverse flagging public confidence in the Afghan war is to commit to keep U.S. troops in the country until the Taliban are entirely defeated, claims former Bush strategist Karl Rove. Putting "victory" and the protection of women's rights front and center in his war rhetoric, Rove says, will "galvanize" the American public and convince the Taliban that "they cannot outlast us." [WSJ]
Ex-Warlord is America's "most reliable friend" in Kandahar. Haji Ghani, the leader of a small semiofficial police force east of Kandahar city who makes a living growing hashish, "has carved out a four-square-mile bubble of tranquility" where U.S. development projects are unhindered by insurgent violence. While U.S. troops compare Ghani to the Godfather, and the district government complains Ghani undermines his authority, according to one U.S. official, "we're on such a short timetable that people are looking and going, 'Oh, well. That area's stable -- full stop.'" [WashPo]
Afghan women and the return of the Taliban. TIME reporter Aryn Baker tells the story of 18 year old Aisha, whose nose and ears were cut off last year on the orders of a Taliban commander, because she ran away from her husband's house. Aisha and countless other Afghan women fear the return of Taliban rule now that a peace settlement between the insurgent group and the Afghan government appears imminent. A diplomat in Kabul told Baker, "We are not going to be sending troops and spending money forever. There will have to be a compromise, and sacrifices will have to be made." [TIME]