ISAS Briefs

President Hamid Karzai's four-day visit to the United States (US) was viewed as an exercise in mending ties. As the US military surge in Afghanistan has advanced and a major anti-Taliban military offensive in Kandahar is on the anvil, it was necessary on Karzai's part to repair the bilateral ties, frayed by war of words, back on track. For the US, it is important to placate and publicly embrace Karzai, for he remains central to the US plans in Afghanistan.