Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

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So, where the hell is Osama bin Laden, anyway? Depends who you ask:

In a memoir that was released yesterday, “In the Line of Fire,” President Musharraf of Pakistan suggests that the leader of Al Qaeda is still in Afghanistan. “The fact that so many Saudis are in the Kunar area perhaps suggests that this is where Osama bin Laden has his hideout, but we cannot be sure,” he writes in the new book, published by Free Press.

But over the weekend, President Karzai of Afghanistan said Mr. bin Laden could be in the border region of Pakistan, but that he is definitely not in Afghanistan. “He is not in Afghanistan. I can tell you that for sure,” Mr. Karzai said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

And, where the hell is Mullah Omar, anyway? Depends who you ask:

The Afghan leader then suggested that Mr. bin Laden is in Quetta, Pakistan. The Taliban warlord, Mullah Omar, is believed to be living there.

In his memoir, General Musharraf said the idea that Mr. Omar is running an insurgency from Quetta is “ridiculous.”

With these diametrically opposed views, no surprise that it’s gotten personal:

“As soon as president Karzai understands his own country, the easier it’ll be for him,” General Musharraf said in an address to the Council for Foreign Relations think tank in New York.

Meanwhile:

Karzai has been no less testy this past week in his public comments, saying what Pakistan is doing in Afghanistan is akin to training snakes and the snakes would one day come back to bite Pakistan.

Well, tomorrow night Messrs. Karzai and Musharraf will enjoy dinner together, hosted by their great mutual friend and ally George Bush, who had this to say earlier today:

BUSH: Tomorrow, President Karzai and President Musharraf and I will have dinner. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be an interesting discussion amongst three allies, three people who are concerned about the future of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Should be interesting, indeed! No word from the White House yet on the menu, but we’re thinking there’ll be more red zinger than humble pie. Musharraf has an unfair advantage: he gets to practice his best lines tonight on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The world is truly strange.

24 thoughts on “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”

  1. good lord… i can imagine the oliphant cartoon.

    it’ll probably have – musharraf as the reluctant suitor – karzai as a swarthy drag queen – gwb as the altar boy on a marriage presided over by obl mouthing, “what i render together, let no man or man rend apart.”

  3. yup. one really does feel this dinner is missing its fourth guest, no?

    The Holy Spirit, the “silent witness to every converation,” the fourth man, indeed, in the biblical Book of Daniel*, who save the three godly innocents were in the fire: Hugo Chavez.

    *The tormentor was Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon which, natch, is in modern-day Iraq.

  4. I saw Musharraf and begum Musharraf speak at the George Washington University and they both did a good job. They are slick speakers who know how to work the audience.

  5. three people who are concerned about the future of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    That’d be Musharraff, Karzai, and…?

  8. Wonder what kind of treatment Mushie is going to get on the Daily Show!

    I predict the Perv will leave himself exposed, but Stewart won’t take advantage. He looks like the sort of guy who goes soft at the sight of mushi.

  9. His forthright way of adressing the matter makes you hope we had leaders like that in India

    In this world there are only two tragedies … 🙂

  11. So impressed was I by Musharraf’s manner of handling the audiences’ questions. His forthright way of adressing the matter makes you hope we had leaders like that in India

    Good Joke :), But no thanks

  13. SM Intern: Can you please ask this Al Mujahideen for debauchery dude to change his id. This is the second time I have been impersonated!

    Deleted and banned. Impersonation is not acceptable.

  15. ‘So impressed was I by Musharraf’s manner of handling the audiences’ questions. His forthright way of adressing the matter makes you hope we had leaders like that in India’

    I don’t know who said the above but now after watching Musharraf on The Daily Show I have to agree. He did come across as plainspoken and earnest. Very disarming personality. I won’t call his performance eloquent or charming though.

  16. Interesting questions those, where are OBL and Mullah Omar? Guess who has a lot to lose if they’re ever caught. Nice try, Mushie.

  17. I just finished reading Ghost Wars. A fascinating book that relates the history of Afghanistan until September 10th 2001. What a book. I couldn’t put it down.

  18. Musharraf did a good job. Well-prepared and went with the flow. Came up with a good answer for Stewart’s final question (“If there were an election for mayor of Karachi between George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden, who would win?” “[pause…] I think they would both lose miserably.”

    A solid lesson in PR skills and preparation, though Musharraf’s goofy look gives him an unfair advantage. I thought Stewart did well too – struck a good balance between deference and incisiveness.

  19. Jon Stewart did a good job by avoiding the controvertial issues like Kargil and India. Must say Americans are touching MUSHI just in the right places.

  21. Anyone know where I can watch the Daily Show segment with Musharraf? I don’t see it on YouTube yet…anyone?