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Cc: SulynDillon@msn.com
Subject: Quote for the day, #1,222.


"'Afghanistan will need $10 billion in the next five years, over and above any relief already pledged, the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, told the delegates. Today, [Afghan interim leader] Hamid Karzai pledged to hire a "reputable international firm to audit our expenditures on a regular basis" and insisted, "The elimination of corruption is one of my top priorities."
 
The New York Times, Jan. 21, 2002 
 
March 3, 2002 
 
Afghanistan today hired Arthur Andersen as its auditor. 'I opened up the Yellow Pages, and they came first alphabetically,' Mr. Karzai told a press conference. Upon hearing snickers in the crowd, Mr. Karzai added, 'What? What is it? Is there something I should know?'
 
May 6, 2003
 
In a shocking turn of events, Afghanistan today reported that it had a budget surplus for the current year. In an interview, Mr. Karzai attributed the country's stunning shift of fortunes to the spirit of the Afghan people, the resolve of the Afghan government and a series of highly complex leveraging arrangements that have 'stripped out' much of the unpredictability of global markets via derivatives held chiefly by government ministers through offshore holding companies. 'But really,' Mr. Karzai added, 'it's more the first two than the third.'
 
Feb. 8, 2004 
 
'The Afghan Miracle,' as some economists have dubbed it, continues apace. In an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr. Karzai quickly grew impatient with questions about how a nation with few natural resources and no major industries could so quickly amass a gross national product twice the size of Japan's. 'Listen, I can't help you if you're too dim to understand this,' Mr. Karzai said. 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a dinner date.'
 
March 12, 2005 
 
Thousands of Afghans today cheered as the Eiffel Tower was lowered into position in downtown Kabul. Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, who bought the tower 'on a whim' from the French government last spring, provided a brief moment of levity when, shouting orders to the helicopter pilot, he exclaimed, 'Hey, let's put it on top of the Tower of Pisa!' As the pilot changed course, Mr. Karzai quickly added, 'Just kidding! Put it next to Big Ben, like we planned.'

Aug. 12, 2008 
 
'When they came and repossessed the moon,' Hamid Karzai answered, when asked to name the hardest part about Afghanistan's declaration of bankruptcy last July. Asked which of his decisions he regretted most, Mr. Karzai answered quickly: 'Buying the naming rights to Canada seemed like a clever idea at the time, but having two countries named Afghanistan simply got confusing.'
 
Mr. Karzai sighed, 'It was all very unfortunate. But I guess it's just - what's the phrase? - part of the genius of capitalism.'
 
Tim Carvell, American journalist, "New Regime, New Accountant," The New York Times, 1/25/02.