"Our Man" in Kabul. (Insider Report)."As far as some in Washington are concerned, Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (Persian and Pashto: حامد کرزي) (b. December 24, 1957) is the current President of Afghanistan, since December 7, 2004. He became the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime. , not George W. Bush, was the real star of the President's State of the Union Address “State of the Union” redirects here. For other uses, see State of the Union (disambiguation). The State of the Union is an annual address in which the President of the United States reports on the status of the country, normally to a joint session of Congress (the ," reported a January 31st dispatch in the cyberzine The Idler. Decked out in an Uzbek cape, the leader of Afghanistan's post-Taliban government "reminded some of a champion boxer," while for others he summoned the memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Appearing at the National Press Club prior to the president's speech, Karzai beguiled be·guile tr.v. be·guiled, be·guil·ing, be·guiles 1. To deceive by guile; delude. See Synonyms at deceive. 2. the cynical international press corps with his charm, intelligence, and "animal magnetism animal magnetism, n theory advanced and practiced by Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer in the late 18th century as a healing technique, according to which a natural fluid exists throughout the universe, in and between all people and earthly and heavenly bodies. ." Apart from The Idler's anonymous correspondent, none of the swooning swoon intr.v. swooned, swoon·ing, swoons 1. To faint. 2. To be overwhelmed by ecstatic joy. n. 1. A fainting spell; syncope. See Synonyms at blackout. 2. scribes saw fit to report a remark from Karzai that could be construed as a threat to the U.S. troops who installed him in Kabul. "When asked about an 'exit strategy,' the Afghan leader told reporters that he would like to keep American forces 'prisoner' in Afghanistan -- because the United States had abandoned his country in 1989, permitting its destruction by the Taliban," reported The Idler. These are ominous words coming from an Iranian-supported radical who has declared: "We want to see our Iranian brothers involved in every aspect of the reconstruction of Afghanistan." (See the Insider Report item "Iran's Influence in Afghanistan" in our February 11th issue). |
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