Hamid Karzai is sounding like an increasingly desperate man. He's been visibly shaken by the deaths of innocent Afghans killed in the ongoing battles between NATO and the insurgents. He's become angry at Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf for failing to crush the Taliban in the border provinces of Waziristan. And where's it all gotten him? Nowhere.
It was hardly surprising then to read reports that Mr. Karzai now claims that Pakistan wants to enslave the Afghan people:
"Pakistan hopes to make slaves out of us, but we will not surrender," Karzai said in a school courtyard, in a 90-minute speech punctuated by frequent applause from several hundred students.
He said Afghan students may aspire to lofty career goals, but that "Pakistan wants you to be a gatekeeper at the hotel in Karachi."
Therein lies the curse of Afghanistan, it's very powerlessness to address the host of ills that plague it and undermine the very viability of the government.
Karzai needs serious backing and the only country that can deliver is the United States. Bush, however, is obsessed with Iraq and his legacy. He's not about to put America's boot on Musharraf's neck and so long as he doesn't, Karzai doesn't stand a chance.
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