Karzai Afghan "President for Life?" Bad for Democracy, Good for Pipelines

Wed, 12/07/2011 - 20:01 EDT - oilprice.com

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According to a document drawn up by Germany's Bundesnachrichtendienst (Federal Intelligence Service, BND) Afghan president Hamid Karzai intends to stay in power when his second and constitutionally final term ends in 2014.
Bad news for Afghan democracy, potentially excellent news for international energy companies thirsting to build the proposed $7.6 billion, 1,040 mile-long Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, on the drawing boards for nearly two decades.
Karzai reportedly wants to emulate the political maneuverings of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who, stymied by the Russian Federation’s constitution from holding the office of presidency for a third consecutive term, simply handed the Presidency to Dmitri Medvedev
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