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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

(President George W. Bush and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai attend a news conference at Camp David, August 6, 2007. REUTERS/Larry Downing)

If Karzai has to choose between Bush and Iran, who does he choose? Which alliance results in greater security, fewer dead Afghanis, and a more desirable way forward?

By -epm, at 9:05 AM
Tough choice really. Iran is going to be the neighbor forever, but at the same time, will also seek to influence forever.

If it were my choice, I'd try to do both but favor Iran because it could be used as a better counterbalance to Pakistani interference.

In a backwards way, seeking some protection from Iran would bring more independence.

On the other hand, Karzai also doesn't want the US to go, be cause the president of Kabul would quickly be killed.

By mikevotes, at 2:39 PM
Is it possible then for Karzai to only give lip service to the Bush admin? (Perhaps they have been all along, really. Karzai has been very critical of US/NATO actions.) If Karzai establishes active, working diplomatic and trade relations with Iran, will Bush do anything differently with Afghanistan, or simply stay the course anyway. In other words, what's the downside to Karzai with pursuing an independent (sovereign) foreign policy that is at odds with Bush?

By -epm, at 3:42 PM
Nothing significant. Politically, he's got the US over the barrel, and there's no better candidate to replace him with.

By mikevotes, at 4:34 PM