Sunday, March 9, 2014

Afghan VP Fahim Dies

The Vice President of Afghanistan Muhammad Qasim Fahim died today from a heart attack. He played a crucial role in gaining support for president Karzai. His dead comes on the eve of future political elections, so this is sure to shake the spectrum up. Fahim notably battled with the Taliban before and after our invasion of Afghanistan. As the New York Times article quotes, "United States turned Mr. Fahim into its first proxy...giving him backpacks stuffed with dollars as American jets bombed the Taliban government's forces". Despite this, his legacy is one fraught with controversy amid allegations that he had frequently committed human rights violations. Both the UN and the US have paid their respects to Fahim, but both have refrained from praising him and are merely expressing condolences.

Alec Phillipp
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/10/world/asia/afghan-vice-president-ex-northern-alliance-commander-dies.html?ref=world

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