The contrast is worrying on many levels. The attack on Karzai, along with a bomb blast on the same day in Kabul that killed 30 people, provides ample evidence of how precarious things remain in Afghanistan. The authority of the central government really extends only to major cities, and its opponents have now shown they can strike even there. Afghan officials blamed remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda for the attacks. But they also pointed a finger at Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a fundamentalist warlord who had reissued a call for jihad against foreign powers in Afghanistan only days before. Karzai tried to downplay the violence, but there have been several bomb attacks in Kabul recently, and many Afghans feel they may portend even larger acts of terror aimed at sowing panic. “This shows, and we believe, that terrorism is still not eradicated from Afghanistan and the region,” says Foreign Minister Abdullah. “It proves the war on terrorism is not finished here.”
The country cannot afford to lose Karzai. He’s not only a respected figure in the West, but one of the few leaders to appeal to a wide cross section of citizens in a countryriven by ethnic feuds. Had Karzai been killed, a national-security council would have been responsible for choosing his successor, almost certainly plunging the fragile government into chaos.
The question is whether Karzai’s most important benefactor–the United States–realizes how fraught his position is. The Afghan president has reportedly been worried lately about his own security, about money for reconstruction and about America’s lukewarm commitment to his fractious country. Without more U.S. involvement, say Afghan officials, the allied victory might yet unravel. “America plays a very important role in Afghanistan,” says Abdullah Jan, an official at the National Directorate for Security. “If the Americans leave, the vacuum will be filled by our enemies.”
That message may finally be getting through to Washington. After months of stonewalling requests to expand the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the United States now seems ready to support the idea. Currently, the ISAF patrols only Kabul, but it should soon be stationing peacekeepers in other Afghan cities. The United States will provide logistical and intelligence support, but has insisted that other governments provide the troops. U.S. President George W. Bush rejected any notions that America was losing interest in Afghanistan. “We’re not leaving,” he said after hearing of the assassination attempt. But with the White House preoccupied with Iraq, Afghans may well wonder whether their ongoing war will be forgotten.
