Re: Afghanistan would back Pakistan in a military conflict with US
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203911804576648971550801968.html
By DION NISSENBAUM
KABULāThe U.S.'s latest attempts to strengthen its relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai received an unexpected jolt over the weekend, as the Afghan leader said he would back Pakistan if it went to war with the U.S.
āGod forbid, if any war took place between Pakistan and the United States, we will stand by Pakistan,ā Mr. Karzai said an interview broadcast Saturday on Pakistanās Geo television network. āIf Pakistan is attacked and if the people of Pakistan needed Afghanistanās help, Afghanistan will be there with you.ā
The prospects of a U.S. war with Pakistan are remote, and Mr. Karzaiās comments were viewed by some Afghan and Western officials in Kabul as a poorly executed effort to blunt his recent angry comments about Pakistanās support for Afghan insurgent groups.
āThis is not about war with each other,ā said Gavin Sundwall, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. āThis is about a joint approach to a threat to all three of our countries.ā
On Sunday, Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Mr. Karzaiās deputy national-security adviser, said the presidentās comments had been taken out of context and didnāt reflect a change in Afghan policy in the region.
āI think the presidentās remarks have been blown up without looking at the real context of the message he was trying to convey,ā he said. āIt is a 50-minute-long interview. Of course one or two sentences canāt speak for a 50-minute-long interview on a specific subject.ā
Mr. Karzaiās comments came as a surprise to some Western officials in Kabul, who had been heartened by the success of last weekās visit by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
In the past, Mr. Karzai has alienated his Western allies with comments suggesting that he might side with the Taliban, or that the U.S. could come to be seen as an occupier if its forces didnāt stop killing Afghan civilians.
Mr. Karzaiās latest remarks struck a nerve with some Afghan and Western officials in Kabul who were reminded of the presidentās penchant for criticizing the U.S.-led coalition that supports and funds his government.
āIt was totally careless, unnecessary and, yes, irresponsible,ā said one Afghan official. āHe hasnāt pleased anyone except, maybe, a few Pakistani generals.ā
U.S. officials said, however, that Mr. Karzaiās remarks wouldnāt overshadow Mrs. Clintonās visit. Mr. Karzai and Mrs. Clinton were united during her trip in demanding that Pakistan stop supporting the Taliban and other Afghan insurgent groups.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have vacillated over the past year between spells of political chill and attempts at a rapprochement.
Mr. Karzai and the U.S. have sought to pressure Pakistan in recent weeks to clamp down on the Haqqani insurgent network suspected of staging a series of deadly attacks on American and Afghan targets.
Afghan officials also accused Pakistanās spy agency of involvement in last monthās assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former Afghan president who had been leading the countryās peace negotiations with the Taliban. Pakistan denies these accusations.
Earlier this month, Mr. Karzai flew to New Delhi to sign a strategic agreement with Pakistanās archenemy India. The move angered Pakistani officials, who viewed it as political provocation.
In the Saturday TV interview, Mr. Karzai repeated his characterization of Pakistan as a ābrotherā and said Afghanistan wouldnāt let the U.S. or any other country dictate its foreign policy. āAfghanistan is a brother,ā he said. āBut, please, brother, stop using all methods that hurt us and are now hurting you. Let us engage from a different platform.ā
Separately, Afghanistanās interior minister Sunday evaded an apparent assassination attempt near Kabul. Officials said a suicide bomber targeted a convoy thought to be carrying Interior Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi. The attacker was shot dead before he could do any harm, and the minister wasnāt in the convoy, the Interior Ministry said.
