The Kingdom and the Afghan Chaos
Saudi Arabia has been increasingly willing to use Mecca as a forum to resolve regional political disputes - most recently by inviting Afghan President Hamid Karzai in an effort to push forward negotiations with the Taliban. But the Saudi regime is openly ambivalent about Karzai, whereas its real goal is to rehabilitate the Taliban, thereby countering Iran's growing regional influence.
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LONDON – In his quest to stabilize his country, Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai, dressed in white robes, arrived last week in Mecca on what can only be called a diplomatic pilgrimage. Although Karzai undoubtedly spent time praying at Islam’s holiest site, his mission was intended to prove more than his piety.