Afghani Stand It

Afghanistan: totally screwed.

According to the Washington Post, Bush and Karzai are meeting amid heightened tension over U.S. treatment of Afghan prisoners and Kabul's problems in getting a handle on the nation's opium trade... Fearful of the backlash from farmers, Karzai resisted U.S. entreaties for an aerial spraying program to destroy poppy fields. A United Nations report last year found that poppy production in the country had skyrocketed... the country's security situation has deteriorated significantly in recent weeks, with violent protests, a surge of political killings and attacks on humanitarian workers.

One of those political killings was the appalling murder of the TV presenter Shaima Rezayee, who had hosted a music show on Kabul TV until conservatives pressured her bosses into firing her about two months ago. The mullahs disliked "the raciness of the pop videos and the 'casual' chat between male and female presenters." Last week, Rezayee was killed in her home; her brothers have been arrested as suspects.