Bush and the Muslim predicament

[mom cat]

Bush and the Muslim predicament
By Ehsan Ahrari

One of the greatest ironies of these strange times is that US President George W Bush pleaded with America's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies on June 29 to pull his chestnut out of the fire, and save him from the disastrous outcomes of two failed states over which his administration is currently presiding: Afghanistan and Iraq.

Bush knows the chances of his reelection in November depend to some extent on the Iraq situation, which continues to be engulfed in violence. At the same time, the awesome task of rebuilding Afghanistan is running into serious dead ends, and even the involvement of 6,500 NATO forces cannot seem to help. The all-powerful American military has not been able to bring the peace and stability to Iraq or Afghanistan, denying Bush the chance to present them as "trophies" to the American people to help him earn a second term in the White House. Even his diplomatic endeavors could not persuade NATO members at the recent Istanbul summit to commit troops in Iraq - instead they will help with training and equipping local troops.

Iraqi interim President Hamid Karzai - who is pejoratively described as the "mayor" of Kabul - showed up at the Istanbul meeting to plead for an additional 2,200 NATO troopsto be sent to all areas of Afghanistan, not just to the north. Elections in the country have already been rescheduled from June to September to October of this year, and the Istanbul impasse further muddied the timetable for the vote designed to anchor Afghanistan's recovery from decades of war.

Meanwhile, increased attacks by Taliban, al-Qaeda and Afghan resistance forces threaten to derail the elections. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's special representative, Jean Arnault, has warned that a further postponement of the elections may be warranted due to the deteriorating security situation. In fact, the world body will make a final decision on the timing of the polls later this month.

http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FG08Ak03.html

[LittleApple81]

1. Fried chestnuts... unless he can convince Osama to produce another attack.

Or simulate one.