The New York Times-20080128-Briton Opposed by Afghans Won-t Take U-N- Post

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Briton Opposed by Afghans Won't Take U.N. Post

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The British politician Paddy Ashdown withdrew his name from consideration for the post of United Nations special envoy to Afghanistan on Sunday, after being rejected by President Hamid Karzai in what was widely seen as a move to assert his authority against Western control.

This job can only be done successfully on the basis of a consensus within the international community and the clear support of the government of Afghanistan, Mr. Ashdown said in a statement. It is clear to me that, in Afghanistan at least, the support necessary to do the job effectively does not exist.

The Afghan foreign minister, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, said Mr. Ashdown had been rejected because of negative press and public reaction to his appointment, but diplomats said it had more to do with Mr. Karzai's desire, one year before Afghan elections, to improve his image by standing up to Western powers.

In addition to opposing Mr. Ashdown's appointment, Mr. Karzai has also opposed a plan to widen the position's authority.

Senior Afghan officials said that Afghans should be taking a greater role in policy and decision-making, and be given more responsibility in the conduct of the campaign against terrorism.

The sudden reversal, after Mr. Ashdown's appointment had seemed virtually assured, became clear after Mr. Karzai met last week with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other Western diplomats in Davos, Switzerland.

Mr. Ashdown withdrew his candidacy for the job in Afghanistan in a letter to Mr. Ban, news agencies reported Sunday.

Mr. Ashdown, a former marine and former leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, served in the powerful position of the United Nations High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 2002 to 2005, and was supported by the United States for the Afghan job.

In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Mr. Ashdown said he had spoken to Mr. Karzai in mid-January after a meeting with Mr. Ban, and said he had understood he had the job. That changed in the past week, he said.

Mr. Spanta, the foreign minister, said the Afghan government had not objected to Mr. Ashdown personally, but had resisted the original suggestion of his becoming a so-called super envoy, with sweeping powers. The preliminary offer was that the same officer should be the representative of NATO, the United Nations and the European Union, Mr. Spanta said. Having these responsibilities was not acceptable.

In discussions over the last few months, the United Nations agreed to scale back the mandate of the new envoy to approximately what it had been previously, Mr. Spanta said.

President Karzai, who came to power after American forces intervened in Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban government in 2001, has often been criticized by his rivals as an American puppet. According to a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity in accord with usual diplomatic rules, Mr. Karzai's focus on being re-elected in 2009 now colors every move.

Afghan public opinion turned against Mr. Ashdown after widespread news coverage of his taking on a larger role, Mr. Spanta said.

Both in Afghan media and Western media, especially in the British media, there were some comments that made a kind of negative atmosphere, an unacceptable atmosphere for Afghans, he said.

He cited a report in The Times of London that Mr. Ashdown had seen it as his role to shift the ethnic balance of power in Mr. Karzai's cabinet, which was dominated by Tajiks. Although the report turned out to be false, he said, ethnic issues were extremely delicate and should be dealt with domestically.

The issue has had broad coverage in both government and opposition news media and has touched Afghan sensitivities about foreign interference and fears of colonial intentions by Britain and other powers.

Mr. Spanta said the Afghan government preferred another British candidate for the job, Gen. John McColl, who is NATO's deputy commander in Europe and who commanded peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan in 2002. It is not clear if the United Nations would appoint an active army general to the post.

Mr. Karzai's sudden reversal on Mr. Ashdown follows several disagreements with Britain, in particular over its handling of the Taliban insurgency and the booming opium trade in Helmand Province, where British troops are deployed.

Last month Mr. Karzai expelled two diplomats, representatives of the European Union and the United Nations, who visited Helmand to set up a program for British forces to re-educate young men captured in the Taliban insurgency. A senior presidential aide said the men had no business meddling in provincial politics.

Then last week at Davos, Mr. Karzai took a swipe at the British forces in Helmand. He complained that the British had persuaded him to remove the provincial governor and his police force in 2006, leaving a vacuum the British failed to fill and which allowed the Taliban to surge in.

Britain has 7,000 troops in Afghanistan, most of them deployed in the most hostile southern provinces. At least 85 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2001.

Mr. Ashdown said the attacks on Britain were really about him. The government of Afghanistan changed its mind on his candidacy in the past week and then chose to beat up on my country to make him change his mind, he told the BBC.

Search for U.S. Aid Worker

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Agence France-Presse) -- The police here searched Sunday for an abducted American aid worker and her driver as authorities awaited contact from the kidnappers.

The Taliban, who have been linked to several kidnappings, said they were trying to see if any of their members were involved but could not yet take responsibility for the abductions, which occurred Saturday.

Police officers searched vehicles leaving Kandahar with emphasis on the area where Cyd Mizell, 49, and her Afghan driver were seized while traveling to work on Saturday.

Our goal is to stop the suspected abductors from taking the hostage out of town and hopefully, with God's help, arrest those who have abducted her, said one of the officers, who gave his name only as Hashmatullah.

The kidnapper has not made contact with the Afghan government or Ms. Mizell's employer, the Philippines-based community development organization Asian Rural Life Development Foundation, they said Sunday.

[Illustration]PHOTO: President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan criticized the British forces' strategy during his trip last week to Davos, Switzerland. (PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER DEJONG/ASSOCIATED PRESS)