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| Afghanistan |
| Karzai makes nice with mullahs |
| 2002-04-21 |
| Interim Prime Minister Hamid Karzai told religious leaders from across Afghanistan on Sunday that they wouldn't be punished for supporting the Taliban, and asked for their help in rebuilding the country. "We should not arrest people on the pretext of being Taliban," Karzai told a seminar of mullahs from every province of Afghanistan. "A powerful hand was behind the Taliban. I don't think there are any Taliban here any more." That's actually, if partially, correct. Treating it as though it was entirely correct allows a segment of the mullahs to save face and still join the interim coalition. Karzai's smarter than given credit for. They've been pushing the Pakistani involvement and even Afghans should be able to see the hand of Qazi and Fazl and the rest of the NWFP religious loons. And the Saudi money. Karzai recited poetry and spoke about Islamic responsibility in a 30-minute speech to dozens of religious leaders in turbans at the studios of Kabul television. He said the mullahs have an important role to play in rebuilding the country. Sure, why not? They had an important role in ruining it in the first place. "We appreciate you," Karzai told the religious leaders. "It is the responsibility of all to help release Afghanistan from poverty." As a rule of thumb, the higher the number of mullahs, the higher the rate of poverty. But maybe he's considering them as scholars, rather than as religious fanatics. Most likely, he's trying to win as many over as he can without worrying about what they're going to do next year. At the moment they're a counterweight to the warlords, at least those of them who aren't behind the warlords. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |