On his way to Kabul, Secretary Gates accused Dr. A’jad and Iran of “playing a double game” in Afghanistan. And surely they are. Nonetheless, the administration which the secretary of defense serves has, if anything, encouraged this behavior. Most especially by not following through on any of its (in any case, namby-pamby) threats as Tehran carries on its relentless march to nuclear possession.
But what, in fact, Iran has been doing is not surprising. With Gates journeying to Afghanistan it was almost inevitable that Ahmadinejad would arrange a visit for himself, certainly with Hamid Karzai’s assent (and, more likely, his invitation). So who is playing the real “double game” here? The Iranian dictator or the Afghani sneak?
As it happens, the worldwide touring of Ahmadinejad has become a feature of international diplomacy, at which, it seems, he is much more adept than President Obama. Watch soon for a trip by the man from Tehran to the men in Riyadh.
This Kabul caper actually reminds me of “destination Damascus,” which I discussed recently. You will recall that Obama reopened relations with the Assad tyranny to great fanfare and expectations. And, within days, the Syrian tyrant was hosting his comrade tyrant from Tehran. Do the Obami ever learn?