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Axis of Evil

Karzai made nice with Khamenei, boosted Khatami

2002-02-27

Karzai began his three-day visit to Iran on February 24. During a meeting with Iran's supreme spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Karzai won a public endorsement for the interim government in Kabul. The expression of approval by Khamenei, who is widely perceived as being aligned with conservative forces, indicated that Iranian hard-liners would refrain from action that undermines the Kabul interim government's authority. Karzai, in turn, thanked Iran for helping to end Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Conservative forces in Iran have reportedly provided aid to Afghan warlords - especially Ismail Khan, who controls the area around Herat.

Khatami, like Karzai, had reason to be pleased with the visit. Iranian conservatives had vigorously opposed Karzai's visit, saying that the Kabul government was little more than a US puppet. As late as February 23, two newspapers representing the conservative viewpoint claimed that the Karzai government was on the verge of collapse due to a "deep division" between secular and religious factions. The accounts implied that Karzai was a member of the secular faction, and therefore unfit to hold a leadership position.
The intricacies of Iranian internal politix are beyond me. The balance of power seems so delicately balanced between the ayatollahs and the reformers - who in most other countries would be considered conservatives - that a good sneeze could send it either way.

Karzai seems to be a better politician when he's out of the country than when he's in it. We can only hope he's winning over the elements he needs inside Afghanistan like he seems to have done with Khamenei.

Posted by:Fred Pruitt

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