Afghanistan News February 28, 2003

February 28, 2003

Karzai: U.S. Won't Lose Its Afghan Focus
Friday, February 28, 2003 2:58 AM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) Afghan President Hamid Karzai gave conflicting signals about whether he thinks the Bush administration will forget about his country.

After meeting Thursday with President Bush in the Oval Office, Karzai said he anticipates ``there will be a reduction in the amount of time spent on Afghanistan'' should the United States try to disarm Iraq by force.

But later, at a Pentagon news conference with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Karzai said he had been assured the United States would not lose its focus on his country.

``We have received assurances that the United States will continue to support Afghanistan and that the attention there will be focused and continuous, and that Iraq will not reduce attention for Afghanistan or the amount of help given to Afghanistan,'' Karzai said.

Bush has offered no public assurances that an Iraq war would not derail reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Pentagon officials say they're committed to helping Afghanistan rebuild no matter what happens in Iraq.

``The goal that the United States has is to do what we can do to help this important country continue its pathway to becoming a stable, healthy, democratic, moderate Muslim state,'' Rumsfeld said.

Karzai said Bush was supportive of his request for U.S. help in rebuilding highways and irrigation and electrical systems, but they did not discuss specific dollar amounts in aid.

Bush emphasized the progress report Karzai gave him, with children going back to school and refugees returning to their homes.

``We continue to look forward to working with you to bring not only peace to that part of the world, but a hopeful future for the citizens,'' Bush told Karzai.

Karzai said he is not convinced that Osama bin Laden is alive, but he wishes the al-Qaida leader would appear to answer for his actions ``to God and to mankind.''

During a news conference at the National Press Club, Karzai said he doubts the authenticity of recent audiotapes in which someone thought to be bin Laden tried to rally Iraqis and expressed a desire to die a martyr.

If bin Laden has more to say, Karzai said, he should do so on videotape.

U.S. intelligence officials are almost certain the voice on the tape belongs to bin Laden.

Afghanistan's foreign minister, Abdullah, said Monday he believes bin Laden and Mullah Mohammed Omar, former leader of the Taliban movement, may be hiding in the mountains along the border with Pakistan.

President Bush receives Afghan President Karzai at White House
Source: US Department of State 27 Feb 2003
President Bush has praised visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai as a courageous leader with a clear vision who has achieved "tremendous progress"for his country in the past year.
Speaking to reporters at the White House February 27 after their talks, Bush noted that under Karzai's leadership more than two million refugees have returned to Afghanistan and three million children have started going to school.

Karzai expressed the gratitude of his country for U.S. help in rebuilding Afghanistan, including road construction and training the Afghan national army. The Afghan leader expressed the determination of his country to continue the war against terrorism.

Fielding questions from reporters, Bush drew a distinction between the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq and the current situation. The mission of the 1991 war was the liberation of Kuwait, Bush said, different from the current mission the disarmament of the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.

"The only question at hand is total, complete disarmament, which he is refusing to do," Bush said.

The president also expressed his "fervent desire" to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Responding to a question about the U.S. economy, Bush said he has confidence in the future of the economy. He said the stimulus package he has proposed to Congress contains multiple economic benefits.

Following is the transcript of the remarks of Bush and Karzai:

(begin transcript)

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
February 27, 2003

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BUSH AND PRESIDENT KARZAI OF AFGHANISTAN IN PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
The Oval Office
11:51 A.M. EST

PRESIDENT BUSH: A couple of opening statements; we'll answer questions today.

Mr. President, welcome back to the Oval Office.

The President has just brought me and members of my administration up to date on the progress being made in Afghanistan. I guess the best way to summarize the discussion is that I'm welcoming a courageous leader, who's got a clear vision about the future of a country he loves, back to the Oval Office.

I was deeply impressed by some of the statistics that he talked about. Over 2 million refugees have returned back to Afghanistan since he was last here in the Oval Office. As the President pointed out, those are people who are expressing their opinion about the future of Afghanistan by making a decision to return home.

He also told me that there are now 3 million children going to school in Afghanistan. Right after and during the period of the Taliban and right after the war, the number of children going to school was negligible.

This is tremendous progress, and I want the American people to know that we're proud of the progress which is being made. I want to continue to thank the American people for their support of the of Afghanistan and our desire for the human life to improve there.

And, Mr. President, we appreciate your leadership, your determination. And we continue to look forward to working with you to bring not only peace to that part of the world, but a hopeful future for the citizens. So welcome back to the Oval Office.

PRESIDENT KARZAI: Well, thank you very much, Mr. President. It's an honor for me to be here with you in the White House. The United States and yourself have helped tremendously in the past year to rebuild Afghanistan, to help us in all aspects of life, including the 3 million children that now go to school have been receiving help from the United States. You have helped us with the roads, with the building of the National Army of Afghanistan. I'm here to thank you and the American people. And I'm also here to ask you to do more for us in making the life of the Afghan people better, more stable, more peaceful. I'm also here to tell you that the war against terrorism is going on. We have defeated them, but some elements are still there. And we should go on strong and tough to get them all and free the world from that menace.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir.

Ron.
Q: Mr. President, following up on your speech last night, if the United States had expanded its mission beyond the liberation of Kuwait and removed Saddam Hussein from power in the 1990s, would the Middle East be more peaceful now?

PRESIDENT BUSH: The mission in early 1990s was to liberate Kuwait, and the United States achieved that mission. The mission now is to disarm Saddam Hussein, in the name of peace. And we will disarm Saddam Hussein.

I noticed today there is some talk about the illegal rockets in Iraq. He this is part of his the discussion about these rockets is part of his campaign of deception. See, he'll say, I'm not going to destroy the rockets, and then he'll have a change of mind this weekend and destroy the rockets, and say, I've disarmed. The rockets are just the tip of the iceberg. The only question at hand is total, complete disarmament, which he is refusing to do.

Steve.
Q: If I could just follow up, though, on your rationale from yesterday. If we could have peace in the Middle East by removing Saddam now, couldn't we have had it if we had removed him 10 years ago? Or is that a

PRESIDENT BUSH: The mission just remember what the mission was. When you commit troops to war, you must have a clear mission. Should we be forced to commit our troops because of his failure to disarm, the mission will be complete disarmament, which will mean regime change. That was not the mission in 1991.

Q: You talked last night about the Middle East road map. What's holding that up? When can we see that?

PRESIDENT BUSH: We have been working on the Middle East every day. We will continue to work to bring peace to the Middle East. And my fervent desire is for the is to achieve peace, and to improve the plight of the Palestinian citizen and, at the same time, improve the security for not only the Palestinians, but the Israelis. We work the peace issue constantly.

Q: Mr. President, consumer confidence numbers hit their lowest levels in, I think, nine years yesterday. And many of those surveyed say that they're more concerned about the economy than they are about Iraq. Money managers on Wall Street say that even when the uncertainty over what is happening in Iraq is resolved, there remain many obstacles of a purely business nature that leave them less than confident looking forward. Are you frustrated by the sense that perhaps perception could become reality here, that the lack of confidence seems to be becoming more entrenched?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I've got confidence in the future of our economy. There's strong signals that this economy will improve. But I understand we need to have a stimulus package to make sure that the forecasts and the predictions become true. A lot of the experts are projecting growth at 3.3 percent. Inherent in their projections is that Congress pass a stimulus package, fiscal stimulus package. I proposed the one that I think will work.

And so that is one of the reasons why you're seeing this administration on a regular basis pursue a stimulus package that will have a positive effect for job creation, a stimulus package directed to small business owners in America, a stimulus package which will encourage investment, a stimulus package which will ultimately help seniors because their dividends might be taxed twice. So this is a stimulus package that is very positive.

But I'm very optimistic about the future of this country the economic future, and I'm optimistic about our chances to achieve peace.

Thank you all.
END 11:50 A.M. EST

U.S. Government announces plan for 1,000 new schools for Afghanistan children
Source: US Agency for International Development (USAID) 27 Feb 2003
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Andrew S. Natsios today announced a new U.S. Government initiative to rebuild the educational infrastructure in all regions of Afghanistan. The estimated $60 million dollar project concentrates on several core issues essential to a functioning and effective educational system. The main aspect of the initiative will be the rehabilitation and construction of 1,000 schools across the country over the next three years.
This announcement followed a meeting between President George W. Bush, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, USAID Administrator Natsios and other U.S. Government officials at the White House. Karzai is on a two-day visit to the United States.

The initiative will provide for the printing of up to 15 million textbooks a key need for Afghanistan's children and for the training of 30,000 classroom teachers. It also will target approximately 60,000 girls who were denied educational opportunities during Taliban rule.

The school construction component will rehabilitate or build schools in areas where both the Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan and the local communities demonstrate a commitment to support education. The Afghan and U.S. Governments will provide teacher salaries and learning materials, while the local communities will help with facility construction and maintenance. All school reconstruction projects will be approved by provincial authorities as well as the Afghanistan Ministry of Education.

"As President Bush has repeated, the American people believe strongly in making continued investments in Afghanistan's future," Administrator Natsios said. "In village after village that I visited in Afghanistan, the people told me the hope for the future was their children. And that meant education."

Fifteen million textbooks will be printed for the 2003 school year. The Ministry of Education will provide the list of texts needed for each grade as well as the texts to be reproduced.

In addition, a key aspect of the program provides training to teachers nationwide. A pilot project in Kandahar and Helmand provinces will test techniques to train teachers in key content areas such as language and mathematics. The program is designed to complement current courses offered by the Ministry of Education and non-governmental organizations by offering teachers continuing support throughout the school year. It will also target isolated rural teachers who do not have access to short-term training opportunities.

Since September 11, the U.S. Government has spent $900 million dollars rebuilding Afghanistan, primarily through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). For more than a year, Afghan reconstruction has focused on education, health, agriculture, infrastructure and strengthening government and the economy.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.

Karzai Says He Is Looking for Bin Laden
Thursday, February 27, 2003 7:41 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday he is not convinced that Osama bin Laden is alive, but he wishes the al-Qaida leader would appear to answer for his actions ``to God and to mankind.''

During a news conference at the National Press Club, Karzai said he doubts the authenticity of recent audiotapes in which someone said to be bin Laden tries to rally Iraqis and expresses a desire to die a martyr.

If bin Laden has more to say, Karzai said, he should do so on videotape.

``If he is alive, then he must show up and have a video for us to watch,'' Karzai said. ``If he can send an audiotape, he can also send a videotape. They are almost the same size. ... That would be, for us, an indication that he is alive.''

U.S. intelligence officials are almost certain the voice on the tape belongs to bin Laden.

Karzai's assessment also contradicted that offered Monday by his foreign minister, Abdullah, who said he believes bin Laden and Mullah Mohammed Omar, former leader of the Taliban movement, may be hiding in the mountains along the border with Pakistan. Abdullah was seated beside Karzai as he spoke Thursday, and did not react to Karzai's remarks.

The Afghan president said bin Laden was a ruthless exploiter of poor Muslims and the perpetrator of ``unbelievable brutality'' against Afghans. ``And then he went beyond that to attack humanity all over, in America and in the Islamic world,'' Karzai said.

``I'm looking for him, to find him,'' he said. ``Why would he go around and keep killing people? He has lots to answer, to God and to mankind.''

Karzai spoke after meeting at the White House with President Bush, who offered no public assurances that a war with Iraq would not hinder the Afghan recovery. Karzai said the effects of such a war on the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan did not come up: ``It was not on our agenda, no.''

Bush has previously promised that Iraq would not push Afghanistan off the U.S. list of priorities. Before meeting with Bush, Karzai fretted that the United States might withdraw as it did when the Soviet Union ended its occupation and left Kabul. In the aftermath, the Taliban rose to power and Afghanistan became a haven for terrorists.

After the meeting, Karzai gave conflicting signals on the issue. First, Karzai said he anticipates ``there will be a reduction in the amount of time spent on Afghanistan'' should the United States seek to disarm Iraq.

Later, at a Pentagon news conference with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Karzai said he had been assured the United States would not lose its focus on his country.

``We have received assurances that the United States will continue to support Afghanistan and that the attention there will be focused and continuous, and that Iraq will not reduce attention for Afghanistan or the amount of help given to Afghanistan,'' Karzai said.

He said Bush was supportive of his request for U.S. help in rebuilding highways and irrigation and electrical systems, but they did not discuss specific dollar amounts in aid.

Bush emphasized the progress report Karzai gave him, with children going back to school and refugees returning to their homes.

``I want to continue to thank the American people for their support of Afghanistan and our desire for the human life to improve there,'' Bush told Karzai. ``We continue to look forward to working with you to bring not only peace to that part of the world, but a hopeful future for the citizens.''

Afghan defense minister leaves for Washington for talks with U.S. counterpart
Feb 28 8:06 AM ET AP
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's defense minister headed to Washington on Friday for talks with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a ministry spokesman said.

Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim was making the six-day trip at Rumsfeld's invitation, spokesman Gulbuddin Hamdard said.

"They'll discuss the establishment of the (Afghan) national army and other security issues," Hamdard said, without elaborating.

Afghanistan's government is trying to build a new national army to replace warlord militias which now dominate the countryside. The army, trained by U.S. and French forces and now only several thousand strong, is expected to eventually number 70,000 men.

Fahim said he would appeal for more money to fund the effort.

"I will ask for financial aid to help rebuild our national army," Fahim told reporters at Kabul airport before his departure.

Also traveling with Fahim is Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Hatiqullah Baryalai, who is overseeing the national army's formation.

Fahim has been criticized for dragging his feet on the new army, which is to be representative of all of Afghanistan's ethnic groups. Like Fahim, most current soldiers are ethnic Tajiks, while most Afghans are ethnic Pashtuns, the core of the ousted Taliban regime.

Fahim has also been criticized for not giving up his weapons cashes tucked away in the Panjshir Valley, where his soldiers were based during the Taliban's rule.

World Bank President commits ongoing support to Afghanistan
Source: World Bank Group 27 Feb 2003
Urges donors not to lose sight of this important post-crisis example
Press Release No: 2003/238/SAR

WASHINGTON, February 27, 2003 - World Bank President James Wolfensohn has assured Afghanistan's leadership that his institution remains committed to the country's reconstruction and has urged donors to recognize that Afghanistan is indeed a test case of post-crisis reconstruction.

"As the eyes of the world focus elsewhere, we should not forget that the experience of Afghanistan is a proving ground for whether the international community can stay the course beside a fragile country as it builds itself up from the aftermath of conflict," said Wolfensohn following a meeting today with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai. "Afghanistan is a country that, under President Karzai, is building an experienced and honest government team. They deserve our support."

President Karzai is currently appealing for new support for the country's budget for the forthcoming fiscal year beginning March 21. He has asked that $600 million be channeled through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund.

"As Afghanistan moves into its next phase of nation building, it is essential that the government has a predictable budget instrument firmly in its hands and which it can align to its development priorities," said Wolfensohn. "I trust the international community understands the importance of Kabul building its authority as a reliable government and it can only do that with predictable budgeting. For this objective, the Trust Fund is a very important instrument."

Wolfensohn said the long-term recovery of Afghanistan would be driven by the private sector but for this impetus to kick in, the country needed to provide security, the rule of law and a viable financial sector.

Next month the World Bank takes a new loan for Afghanistan to its board for the rebuilding of a vital road link out of Kabul to the border with Tajikistan. The Bank will lend $108 million for this project. Currently, the Bank has four ongoing projects in Afghanistan worth $100m in grant funding. Over 22 percent has already been disbursed.

US, Afghan govts agree on MoU for new Kabul five-star hotel managed by Hyatt
WASHINGTON (AFX) - The US and Afghan governments have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding pledging their joint support for the construction of a new five-star hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, which will be managed by US hotel group Hyatt International.

The US government will provide up to 35 mln usd in financing and political risk insurance for the project through The Overseas Private Investment Corp, a government agency that helps US companies invest overseas.

The planned 200-room hotel, to be called the Hyatt Regency Kabul, will be located in the heart of Kabul's business, government, and diplomatic district, according to an OPIC statement.

Hyatt International Corp will serve as the hotel operator.

Armed Supporters of Warlord Seize Road
Thursday, February 27, 2003 1:17 PM EST
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Armed supporters of an Afghan warlord have blocked the main road between two towns in volatile eastern Afghanistan, government officials said Thursday.

Supporters of Bacha Khan Zadran cut the road between Gardez and Khost three days ago after local officials seized a dozen of his militia's vehicles because they were setting up illegal checkpoints, said Hashmatullah, an official in the governor's office in Khost province who uses only one name a common practice in Afghanistan.

State TV reported that Paktia Gov. Raz Mohammad Dalili sent a delegation of elders to try to resolve the problem. Hashmatullah said elders from Khost province had also been dispatched.

Most of Afghanistan's countryside is ruled by warlords and their private armies, while President Hamid Karzai's influence is largely limited to the capital, Kabul.

UN refugee chief Ruud Lubbers urges northern Afghan warlords to stop fighting
Fri Feb 28, 6:10 AM ET By SUZANNE PLUNKETT, Associated Press Writer
MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan - The head of the U.N. refugee agency met with three warlords in northern Afghanistan on Friday to complain about insecurity and ethnic tensions and urge them to unite to help Afghans return to their homes.

Ruud Lubbers traveled by road from the capital, Kabul, to Mazar-e-Sharif and met early Friday with warlords Abdul Rashid Dostum, Atta Mohammed and Ustad Sayeedi. Afghan Refugees Minister Inayatullah Nazeri also attended the talks.

Lubbers, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, wants authorities in the north to bring an end to factional fighting in the region and guarantee security for ethnic groups, particularly ethnic Pashtuns, who have complained of harassment.

Thousands of ethnic Pashtuns living in squalid camps in southern Afghanistan have refused to return to their homes in the north out of fear they will be discriminated against by ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks who dominate the region.

There has been frequent fighting between soldiers loyal to Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek, and Mohammed, a Tajik, in various northern provinces over the last year. Supporters of Sayeedi, an ethnic Hazara, have not been involved in the recent fighting.

The feuding among warlords has disrupted aid to northern Afghanistan and generated complaints from international charities.

The U.N. refugee agency says about 720,000 Afghans are displaced across the country. About 400,000 - many of whom were forced to leave their homes because of a four-year drought - are in the south.

On Saturday, Lubbers heads to Nahrin, north of Kabul, to see conditions of returnees and shelter projects. Nahrin was hit by several earthquakes last year which leveled thousands of houses.

He is to end his Afghan visit on Sunday and fly to neighboring Pakistan.

Two Blasts in Southern Afghan City, No Casualties
Fri Feb 28, 1:42 AM ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Two rockets exploded in the center of the southern Afghan city of Kandahar Friday but there were no casualties in the latest in a wave of incidents in the former Taliban power base.

The rockets were found on a street where government offices and foreign non-government organizations are located and blew up before a de-mining team could make them safe, a security official said.

"It is a terror attack," said the chief of the city's intelligence department, Ataullah. He said there was no reports of any casualties.

It was not clear how the rockets were detonated but another security official said they could have been set off by remote control or by a timer.

"The explosion was really loud, it could be heard far away," said Noor Jan whose bakery is on the street where the rockets exploded. He said police had taken three of his employees for questioning.

Concern is growing that the Taliban, ousted in late 2001 by U.S.-backed opposition groups and a U.S. air assault, are trying to regroup along the rugged border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Authorities said this week 12 suspected Taliban members were arrested in Kandahar and in the nearby border town of Spin Boldak, and arms and explosives were recovered.

Monday, an explosion damaged a car outside the house of the education director for Kandahar province.

Some 13,000 U.S.-led coalition troops are hunting in southern and eastern Afghanistan for remnants of the Taliban and the al Qaeda network, blamed for the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.

Bushed About the Facts
IN REVIEW: BOOKS: THE WAR ON TERROR
Far Eastern Economic Review February 20, 2003
Bob Woodward is a darling of investigative journalism, but his study of the Bush White House falls way short, writes Ahmed Rashid Bush At War, by Bob Woodward. Simon and Schuster. $28

NOBODY CONTRADICTS or corrects President George W. Bush. And certainly not Bob Woodward. So when, according to the notes of cabinet meetings that have been handed over to Woodward and which form the core of Bush at War, the president makes mistake after mistake in deciphering the day-to-day moves by the U.S. military and the Northern Alliance during last year's war in Afghanistan, it appears that none of the principals in the U.S. government has the courage to correct him.

It seems, therefore, that Woodward is either so obligated to Bush or so completely ignorant about the geography, history and politics of Afghanistan and Central Asia that he doesn't dare correct him either. Since he achieved fame for his reporting on Watergate, Woodward has become the court historian of successive U.S. presidencies. His books have become best sellers because he has been given unprecedented access by American leaders to their notes and private thoughts.

His earlier books placed these revelations in some kind of historical context of U.S. policymaking, and Woodward retained his credibility as a journalist by offering some degree of independent analysis of what he was hearing and the events he was covering.

In Bush at War, however, Woodward declines to give any kind of context to the decision-making process in the White House immediately after the terror
attacks of September 11, 2001. The result is that it's as though the monumental policy and intelligence failures that day, and subsequent policy decisions pursued by the Bush administration, exist in a vacuum and require no analysis, no explanation of the past and present and no discussion of the impact of those decisions.

Woodward seems determined to avoid embarrassing his friends in high places. He becomes the classic priestly note-taker for medieval kings and emperorsthere to record their words of wisdom and folly, but to offer no comment of his own to decipher their worth or significance and no analysis of how their decisions fit into the matrix of what has gone before or what could follow.

Not once in 372 pages does Woodward criticize any of the principals. Nor does he dare to evaluate their performance, the worth of their opinions or their significance in the decision-making process. No presidential court could ask for a better courtier than Woodward.

Even the intense differences between Secretary of State Colin Powell and the hardliners in the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency (even more evident in the handling of U.S. policy toward Iraq) are watered down to an embarrassing extentembarrassing, that is, for Woodward's credibility. Major decisions and events that proved to be disastrous, such as the U.S. special forces' raid by parachute on an airfield in southern Afghanistan during the bombing campaign in mid-October, are glossed over by Woodward as "largely demonstration raids, orchestrated to show capability and gather intelligence." The fact that a major internal enquiry was launched into the failure of the raid, and that such raids were never repeated, is not mentioned.

Doubtless when Bush runs for re-election, his spin masters will use this book to demonstrate the forceful and powerful intellect that Bush commands, his heroic and decisive powers of decision-making and how his team is constantly in awe of him, even as National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice acts as the keeper of the president's intellectual flame.

That is not to say the book is not worth reading. Everyone in Washington is reading it and doubtless this is true in every corridor in every centre of power in the world. Everyone wants to know what the president said and did in the aftermath of September 11. Even if not very illuminating, the book is certainly titillatinga kind of Hello! magazine for the rich and powerful. In this day and age of celebrity culture it is a major journalistic coup to have access to the actual words of the most powerful man on earth, no matter how banal they may be.

The book confirms the confusion in the White House as the campaign in Afghanistan began. As the bombing campaign in Afghanistan flounders and the
press start accusing the administration's strategy of being stuck in a quagmire, there is clearly a feeling of doubt and depression in the White House. Woodward clearly illustrates that. Then when Mazar-e-Sharif unexpectedly falls and the Taliban rout begins, Woodward joins in with Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld to mock his fellow journalists for daring to question U.S. strategy.

Woodward also gives us a front-row seat in showing how the White House forged its global alliance against terrorism, and in particular how swiftly the U.S. was able to win support from Afghanistan's neighbours for allowing U.S. bases to be located on their territory. Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf jumps on board without a moment's thought, while Uzbekistan procrastinates as it tries to extract the maximum concessions from Washington.

Ahmed Rashid is a correspondent for the REVIEW and the author of Taliban and Jihad