President Bush As A Peacemaker

In the Associated Press photograph above President Bush seems to be saying to Musharraf and Karzai: “OK guys! Enough is enough. Now like good boys shake hands…Come on…”

But the media tells us that President Parvez Musharraf of Pakistan and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan not only refused to kiss and make up but also did not speak to each other.

Here is the AP report: “President Bush appealed to the bickering presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday to put aside their differences and ‘strategize together’ over dinner on ways to defeat the common enemy of terrorism.

“Judging by the body language Bush himself had said he would be watching, there were plenty of tensions to overcome over a light dinner of soup, sea bass and salad. The meal was billed as an ‘iftar,’ a meal that breaks the daytime fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Musharraf and Karzai are Muslims.

“The Afghan and Pakistani leaders stood stiffly on either side of Bush during a brief Rose Garden appearance before they ate.

“Musharraf remained expressionless during his host’s brief remarks, while Karzai repeatedly nodded agreeably. Karzai and Musharraf never touched, each taking Bush’s hand before turning to go inside, but not each other’s.

” ‘I look forward to having dinner with friends of mine who don’t happen to share the same faith I do but nevertheless share the same outlook for a more hopeful world,’ Bush said in the brief Rose Garden remarks before dinner.

“Afghan officials allege that Pakistan lets Taliban militants hide out and launch attacks into Afghanistan. Musharraf says Karzai has bad information and notes that Pakistan has deployed 80,000 troops along the porous border.

“Karzai says Musharraf turns a blind eye to hatred and extremism being bred at Islamic schools in Pakistan. At one point, Musharraf said Karzai is behaving ‘like an ostrich,’ refusing to acknowledge the truth and trying to shore up his political standing at home.

“Right up to Wednesday night’s White House dinner, they also have pointed fingers at one another over al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and other terror leaders. Each says bin Laden isn’t hiding in his country and suggests the other might do more to help find him.”

This ‘war within the war on terror’ would test the skills of President Bush to bring some sort of truce between his two great allies now camping in Washington.