Hamid Karzai

Other information

On September 5, 2002, an assassination attempt was made on Hamid Karzai in Kandahar. A gunman wearing the uniform of the new Afghan National Army opened fire, wounding the Governor of Kandahar and an American Special Operations officer. The gunman, one of the President's bodyguards, and a bystander who knocked down the gunman were killed when Karzai's bodyguards returned fire. A second attempt on Karzai's life took place on September 16, 2004 when a rocket missed the helicopter he was riding to Gardez, where Karzai planned to open a school.

Related Topics:
September 5 - 2002 - Assassination - Afghan National Army - September 16 - 2004 - Helicopter - Gardez

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Karzai speaks six languages; Pushtu, Dari, Urdu, English, French and Hindi.

Related Topics:
Pushtu - Dari - Urdu - English - French - Hindi

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Karzai was awarded the Philadelphia Liberty Medal for 2004 and made an Honorary British Knight in 2003. He received an honorary doctorate in literature from Himachal University, his alma mater, on March 7, 2003. On a lighter note, he has been lauded for his excellent personal dressing style, particularly his capes and fezzes. Gucci's Tom Ford called him "the chicest man on the planet", and Silvia Fendi, of Fendi, has extolled his "great nonchalance and elegance".

Related Topics:
Philadelphia Liberty Medal - 2004 - Honorary British Knight - 2003 - Himachal University - March 7 - Cape - Fezzes - Gucci's - Tom Ford - Fendi

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Karzai's brother Ahmed Wali Karzai helps coordinate humanitarian assistance in the southern province of Kandahar. Several of Karzai's brothers and sisters are restauranteurs in the United States. They own restaurants in San Francisco, Baltimore, and Cambridge, MA, all called Helmand.

Related Topics:
Ahmed Wali Karzai - San Francisco - Baltimore - Cambridge, MA

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Several sources, most notably the film Fahrenheit 9/11, have reported that Karzai once worked as a consultant for the oil company Unocal. Spokesmen for both Unocal and Karzai have denied any such relationship, although they could not speak for all companies involved in the consortium. http://emperors-clothes.com/interviews/lane.htm http://209.41.191.254/cnn.cfm?id=118579&category=Economy&Country=AFGHANISTAN The claim appears to have originated in the December 9, 2001 issue of the French newspaper Le Monde. It was also stated by the Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0610/p01s03e-wosc.html. Some have suggested that Karzai was confused with U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad.

Related Topics:
Fahrenheit 9/11 - Unocal - December 9 - 2001 - Le Monde - Christian Science Monitor - Zalmay Khalilzad

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In 2004, he rejected a US proposal to end the poppy production in Afghanistan through aerial spraying of chemical herbicides, possibly fearing that he may alienate some warlords who are hostile to his administration or support him conditionally.

Related Topics:
Poppy - Herbicide - Warlord

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On May 21, 2005, he was denied permission to throw a ceremonial first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park, due to security and logistical concerns.

Related Topics:
May 21 - 2005 - Boston Red Sox - Fenway Park

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On May 25, 2005 Hamid Karzai visited a West Point, Nebraska cattle feeder, and received an honorary degree from the Center for Afghan Studies at the University of Nebraska - Omaha.

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