HANG 'EM HIGH :

Karzai seeks Israeli help to combat terrorism (Aslam Khan, 2002-06-19, Jang.com)

In a major development that holds ominous overtones for Pakistan and seeks the attention of foreign policy makers, Afghanistan has formally sought help from Israel for combating terrorism, The News has learnt. The request was put forth by newly elected Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Natan Sharansky on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, a fortnight ago.

If true--and it seems wise not to take Asian and Middle Eastern news sources at face value--this would represent a further tightening of the noose around the Arabic Islamic World by the de facto Eastern Alliance of Democratic States (Israel, Turkey, Iran, India, Afghanistan, Russia, and the U.S.). It would also give us reason to believe that Hamid Karzai is serious about transforming Afghanistan into a real country and one oriented toward the West. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 19, 2002 7:14 PM