Word: kabul
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
There may be more to it than that. A Western diplomat in Kabul says intelligence reports indicate that Iranian agents have been seen around Khost--far to the east of where they were thought to have been most active--buying off tribal commanders in a deliberate effort to undermine Karzai. That's why the Americans thought there were "bad guys" in the region. But nobody supposes that Karzai can demand the application of American force against his rivals whenever he feels like it. "We keep telling [the government], 'Don't cry wolf,'" says a European official in Kabul. "They...
...still teeming with armed warlords? Especially if you don't have a military of your own? For Hamid Karzai, the answer sometimes is just to take care of the little things. On a recent afternoon, Afghanistan's interim leader decides to take the pulse of the capital, Kabul, on foot. Before setting out, he removes his trademark green-striped Uzbek robe and puts on a less flashy overcoat. Accompanied by a pair of aides but no bodyguards, he strolls through the palace gates to check out the city. He stops at a shop selling TV dishes, which had been banned...
...nation is barely holding together. Its implacable problems, forgotten in the brief moment of triumph, are now front and center. Warlords are trying to carve up the country. Opium is once again the No. 1 crop. And scheming neighbors are attempting to put their own guys in power in Kabul. The strain on Karzai is evident during the several days that I spend with him. The promise of foreign aid helps keep the peace, as do the American bombing raids aimed at some of his enemies. But Karzai, in spite of his outward optimism, must surely wonder whether the long...
Shakespeare would envy the complexity of the scene as Afghanistan's leaders gather to bury a colleague, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Abdul Rahman, who was murdered at the Kabul airport two weeks ago. Though Karzai presides, it is apparent that while he possesses the ceremonial trappings of his office--a presidential guard and an off-tune military band--the real power lies elsewhere. Defense Minister Mohammed Qasim Fahim and Interior Minister Younus Qanooni both arrive for memorial prayers with a retinue of armed warriors. The assorted dignitaries remove their shoes to enter the local mosque. Karzai later notes with...
...Kabul has become a favorite stopover for foreign dignitaries and assorted publicity seekers, and Karzai has to receive them all. On a recent weekday, the main attraction is General Richard Myers, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Karzai wants American help in building up a national army. International firepower, he argues, is the best way to answer the warlords. Myers offers U.S. help in training a "nucleus" of 600 Afghan troops. Karzai expresses gratitude but says, "The cost of the U.S. not staying committed is too high." If the Americans leave, he adds, "Afghanistan could slide back into...