Karzai, Musharraf meeting comes at an opportune time

While the Sunday and Monday meetings at Camp David between President Bush and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan were important, today’s session featuring Karzai and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in Kabul is significant.

Why? Because the get-together is part of a four-day peace conference being attended by 700 tribal elders and officials from both countries. The goal of the conference: To develop a strategy for dealing with Islamic insurgents who are undermining the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The significance is also highlighted by the fact that Karzai and Musharraf have set aside their disagreements over who’s to blame for the violence along the border of their two countries perpetrated by the Taliban and al-Qaida operatives.

Indeed, American intelligence officials have suggested that the mountain region has become a safe haven for the terrorists and may well be where Osama bin Laden and members of his inner circle are hiding. The provinces are ruled by tribal chieftains who have no regard for Musharraf. Hence, the porous border.

Karzai has complained that the Pakistani government’s inability — or unwillingness — to crackdown on the provinces has resulted in a resurgence of the Taliban in his country.

American and NATO forces have been deployed inside Afghanistan, but have been unable to quell the violence in regions of the country where Taliban fighters have established bases.

Assassination attempts

Therefore, the onus is on Musharraf to prove that his government is committed to dealing with the Islamic extremists who have tried to assassinate him three times.

But, the Pakistani leader is walking a thin line and could well find himself being overthrown by opponents who have used his close relationship with President Bush and the United States as a rallying cry.

And it explains why he has reacted with anger to idea that the U.S. may be willing to carry out unilateral attacks inside Pakistan against al-Qaida if the intelligence is solid.

President Bush’s refusal Monday, after his meeting with Karzai, to say whether such a campaign would be conducted in conjunction with Pakistani forces has caused great consternation.

Coming on the heels of comments by U.S. Sen. Barak Obama, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, about the use of American military force in Pakistan, the goodwill toward the U.S. is fast dissipating.

Against that backdrop, the Karzai-Musharraf session takes on added significance. If the two leaders can persuade the tribal elders and citizens of their respective countries that the need to deal with their common enemy, Islamic extremists, is urgent, then a two-pronged attack has a good chance of success.

The capture or killing of bin Laden would be a major coup — but he obviously is being protected by the inhabitants of the border provinces and tribal leaders.

In an obvious move to silence his critics, Musharraf this week ordered attacks on two insurgent hide-outs in the North Waziristan tribal area. Ten suspected militants were killed in the raids.