U.S. And Afghanistan: The Stressful Relationship -- Foreign Policy Blog
Hamid Karzai might be able to convince Washington of his good intentions this week, but it won't change the bleak reality on the ground in Afghanistan.
When Barack Obama welcomes Hamid Karzai to Washington this week, you won't hear much, at least officially, about the tension that has defined their relationship thus far. The April media circus over the Afghan president's erratic behavior -- he reportedly threatened to join the Taliban in one bitter anti-Western rant -- appears to have spooked both sides into pretending that they are getting along just fine, thank you very much. Obama and Karzai are scheduled to spend what one White House advisor described as an "extraordinary" three hours together. Call it reconciliation -- a word more often used to describe the Afghan government's flailing efforts to bring wayward Taliban over to its side.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
President Obama has much to untangle with Hamid Karzai -- Washington Post editorial
Talking to the Taliban -- James Dobbin, New York Times
Obama wakes up: White House turn on terror -- Ralph Peters, New York Post
Civilian trial for 9/11 suspects should be off the table -- David B. Rivkin Jr. and Vincent J. Vitkowsky, L.A. Times
Even terrorism suspects have rights -- Erwin Chemerinsky, L.A. Times
The Next Round of the Great Game -- Richard Lourie, Moscow Times
Europa! Europa! -- Roger Cohen, New York Times
Europe’s Bailout -- New York Times editorial