Kabul, Afghanistan
U.S. soldiers have replaced Afghans as bodyguards for President Hamid Karzai, the Pentagon said this week. The U.S. had been keeping its distance from Afghan government affairs to avoid creating the appearance that the new president and Cabinet are puppets of the West. But the Pentagon said the Afghan soldiers could not assure the president’s safety. Afghanistan is still “a place where people get killed,” said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Several weeks ago, two men assassinated Vice President Haji Abdul Qadir in broad daylight as he left his office. And in February, Transport Minister Abdul Rahman was killed by a mob at the airport.
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