Afghan president Hamid Karzai is preparing for a two-day meeting with President Bush at Camp David starting on Sunday while his government is facing pressures over how to secure the release of the 21 surviving South Korean hostages, combat the Taliban insurgency and rein in Afghanistan’s opium poppy trade, reports Pamela Constable for the Washington Post.According to the report, Bush administration officials have described the meeting as a private “strategy session” between partners and a chance to reiterate unwavering US support for Karzai’s government.
The most urgent issue is that of the Taliban. ItÂ’s recent kidnapping of 23 Korean church volunteers shows how the insurgency is getting closer to driving out foreign troops and restoring strict Islamic rule, according to Constable.
She writes that Karzai prefers to negotiate his way out of problems. Many Afghans also support a negotiated peace with insurgents. But, she adds, US officials reject this approach, especially in hostage situations.
According to the report, the Taliban have made their presence known in “widening swaths” in recent months. “The government has lost the confidence of our people, and the Taliban are getting more powerful,” said Roshanak Wardak, a rural obstetrician and parliamentarian from Wardak, a poor region currently plagued by the Taliban.