"I don't want a banana republic. I want a real country." Hamid Karzai, who was recently elected Afghanistan's interim president.
Rumsfeld, unlike Powell, wants Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to be given a free hand on Palestine. This is also the instinct of Bush, who has shown a preference for Rumsfeld’s advice on issues like withdrawing from the ABM Treaty and targetting Iraq. The tussle also has a puerile touch. The formidable defence secretary pokes fun at Powell for describing Afghans as "Afghanis" and mispronouncing Kabul. What Rumsfeld, though, forgets is that the secretary’s domestic approval ratings top even those of Bush.
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
Hey, Mr Banker
Bankers in Argentina are reporting a high incidence of nervous breakdown, facing as they do death threats and assaults. One of them had someone even poke a needle into him to give AIDS, and most function from heavily-barricaded offices. With the economy badly ravaged, and the government’s decision to partially freeze private bank deposits, people are furious at the ingenious methods bankers have adopted to implement cash rationing. For instance, when customers arrive at banks with legal injunctions to de-freeze their account, bankers present them with tons of coins which they can’t carry home. No wonder the popular ire against them. Angry crowds have also beaten up politicians, including former president Fernandoi de la Rua. One graffito on the wall of a public building says, "Serve your country, murder a politician!"
BAGHDAD, IRAQ
Still Wanted: Saddam
Is the world to witness some dramatic action in Iraq? Are Special US forces swooping in on Baghdad and whisking President Saddam Hussein away? Or is a moribund Iraqi Opposition suddenly emerging as a potent force la Northern Alliance? The reason for such speculation is The Washington Post’s story last week claiming that George Bush has authorised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to use all possible means, including special forces, to depose Saddam. No one knows what the Iraqi President thinks of these emerging threats, but his foreign minister, Naji Sabri, thought there was nothing new in these. "The US has been conducting conspiracies against Iraq for the past 30 years," he said.
