When President Barack Obama welcomes the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan to the White House on Wednesday, he will be meeting two leaders the US relies on – and deeply distrusts.
The Americans desperately need both Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan to get a grip on the deteriorating security situation in the region now referred to in Washington as “AfPak”. But both men are regarded as incompetent leaders with whom the US has a scratchy and difficult relationship.
Mr Obama will doubtless greet the two leaders with his trademark grace and bonhomie. But behind the scenes US officials will be anxiously weighing the options for alternative leadership. Is it too late to find a better candidate to run against Mr Karzai in the Afghan presidential elections this year? Is there a more competent would-be president of Pakistan waiting in the wings?
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