Found good article re: Iran-Afghanistan. The site is one of Soros' beneficiaries.
eurasianet.org
February 27, 2002
AFGHAN LEADER'S VISIT TO IRAN HANDS POLITICAL VICTORY
TO REFORMISTS IN TEHRAN
Camelia Entekhabi-Fard : 2/26/02
During his recent visit to Tehran, interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai
received an important boost from Iranian leaders, who pledged to take
measures to cut off assistance to unruly warlords inside Afghanistan.
Less visible, yet just as significant was the fact that Karzai's visit had
important ramifications for Iranian domestic politics, marking a victory for
reformist President Mohammed Khatami in his long-running struggle with
conservative political forces inside Iran.
Karzai began his three-day visit to Iran on February 24. During a meeting
with Iran's supreme spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Karzai won a
public endorsement for the interim government in Kabul. The expression
of approval by Khamenei, who is widely perceived as being aligned with
conservative forces, indicated that Iranian hard-liners would refrain from
action that undermines the Kabul interim government's authority. Karzai,
in turn, thanked Iran for helping to end Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
Conservative forces in Iran have reportedly provided aid to Afghan
warlords - especially Ismail Khan, who controls the area around the
western Afghan city of Herat. [For background information see the
Eurasia Insight archives].
Khatami, like Karzai, had reason to be pleased with the visit. Iranian
conservatives had vigorously opposed Karzai's visit, saying that the Kabul
government was little more than a US puppet. As late as February 23,
two newspapers representing the conservative viewpoint claimed that the
Karzai government was on the verge of collapse due to a "deep division"
between secular and religious factions. The accounts implied that Karzai
was a member of the secular faction, and therefore unfit to hold a
leadership position.
In recent months, Iran's actions toward Afghanistan have become
increasingly enmeshed in the domestic political struggle between
reformists and conservatives. This phenomenon is actually quite new,
coming as a response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Prior to
that, there was tacit agreement between the battling factions not to allow
their conflicts to spill into the foreign policy arena.
The September 11 attacks ended up benefiting Iran's reformist forces,
helping them regain the offensive against conservatives. [For additional
information on Iran's domestic political struggles see the Eurasia Insight
archives]. In the days immediately following the terrorist attacks, the
Iranian leadership was clearly apprehensive of becoming a target of US
reprisals. Conservatives became demoralized, and toned down
anti-American rhetoric. To give an idea of how Iranian hard-liners felt
besieged, an entire corps of Revolutionary Guards stationed in Lebanon's
Bekka Valley was hurriedly recalled back to Iran soon after September 11.
Khatami, sensing the weakness of his political opponents, outmaneuvered
conservatives during sessions of the Supreme National Security Council.
For example, the Iranian president secured conservative support for
Iran's pledge to rescue US airmen downed in Iranian territory. Acting on a
request by Karzai, Khatami also managed to prevent renegade Afghan
warlord Gulbuldin Hekmatyar, then living in Iran, from disrupting the
Afghan stabilization process. According to the IRNA news agency,
Hekmatyar, who has been under virtual house arrest since earlier this
year, was expelled from Iran February 26.
In a related development, Khatami reportedly has gained approval for the
dispatch of a special parliamentary commission to investigate claims that
Taliban and al Qaeda loyalists found refuge on Iranian territory.
Khatami's string of political successes stretch back to late 2001. At the
Bonn meeting that led to the creation of the interim Afghan government
in December, a diplomatic source said groundbreaking, direct talks
between Iranian and American officials played a crucial role in promoting
an overall agreement. For example, it was Iran that forced Mr. Rabbani to
step down. Similarly, Khatami prevailed upon conservatives to forego their
traditional attachment to the Shia-dominated Afghan militia - the
Hezb-i-Wahdat - in favor of a broad-based government.
By early 2002, conservative leaders seemed to recover their balance and
attempted to take steps to neutralize reformist moves. US President
George W. Bush's verbal attack on Iran, including it in the so-called "axis
of evil" played an important role in reinvigorating conservative forces.
Conservative elements, in addition to providing aid to some Afghan
warlords, opened a media offensive against Karzai's government.
Conservatives also stepped up aid to Hizbullah radicals in Lebanon.
However, the fact that Karzai's visit went off largely as planned indicates
that Khatami retains the political high ground in Iran.
Editor's Note: Camelia Entekhabi-Fard is a freelance journalist who
specializes in Afghan and Iranian affairs.
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Posted February 26, 2002 © Eurasianet |
