When to maintain contacts with bad guys

The New York Times has gathered together an impressive round table of wise men and women to discuss the case of Ahmed Wali Karzai, (brother of President Karzai) who has been linked to the drugs trade in Afghanistan and recently was outed as a long-time CIA asset. Ahmed Karzai is a symbol of corruption in Afghanistan, and the CIA’s connection with him undermines America’s nation-building agenda in Afghanistan. So, how to deal with him?

The round table includes many of the usual suspects: Stephen Biddle, Andrew J. Bacevich, Fred Kagan, Vanda Felbab-Brown and Robert D. Kaplan. The round table is still going on so for the Afghan hands out there, keep your tabs on it here.