Karzai warns of terrorism 'wildfire'
Pastor Dale Morgan
Karzai warns of terrorism 'wildfire'*
* Story Highlights
* Karzai gives sobering account of Afghan situation to World
Economic Forum
* Warns world could be engulfed by "wildfire" of terrorism sweeping
Afghanistan
* Stemming terrorism is one of the themes at the World Economic Forum
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- Afghanistan's president warned Wednesday that
the whole world could suffer from the "wildfire" of terrorism engulfing
his region, a grim message for a meeting of political and business
leaders already fretting over the threat of global recession.
Hamid Karzai addresses the opening session of the World Economic Forum
on Wednesday.
Formally opening the World Economic Forum, Hamid Karzai gave a sobering
rundown of recent attacks attributed to Islamic extremists -- among them
the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and bombings in Afghanistan and
Pakistan that have killed hundreds, including many children.
With militant violence still on the rise in the two nations six years
after the ouster of the Taliban, "it seems like the mutant of extremism
is dangerously unleashed across the region," Karzai said. The trend
"bodes terribly badly for the whole world," he said.
In an apparent allusion to Pakistan -- whose president, Pervez
Musharraf, originally supported the Taliban -- Karzai called terrorism
"a venomous snake that some among us tried to nurture and befriend at
the expense of others, which I hope we realize now was a mistake."
Musharraf, now a U.S. ally in the war on extremist groups, has often
been accused by Karzai of not doing enough to shut down sanctuaries for
Taliban fighters in Pakistan's tribal region along the border with
Afghanistan.
The Pakistani president is attending the conference in Davos as well, as
part of a European tour seeking to reassure the West that he is in
control of his country after months of political instability and
increased attacks by Islamic militants.
Both leaders held separate talks Wednesday with Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, but there was no indication they would meet with each
other.
Musharraf spokesman Rashid Qureshi told The Associated Press the meeting
with Rice "went very well," saying there was "total consonance and
unanimity of views" on joint efforts to fight terrorism.
How to stem terrorism is one of the themes at this year's World Economic
Forum, along with dealing with climate change, implementing a workable
peace process in the Middle East and discussing how technology is
ushering in a new age of social networking that knows no borders.
Still, with many participants watching stock markets slump and sharing
the realization that economic downturn can breed political turmoil, the
main focus Wednesday was on the chances for worldwide recession.
Rice, in a nod to the economic anxiety, told an audience of chief
executives, politicians and others that the U.S. economy is resilient
and will remain an "engine of growth."
She urged the world to "have confidence in the underlying strength of
the global economy -- and act with confidence on the basis of the
principles that lead to success in today's world."
But many leading participants shared the view that the world cannot
escape the effects of America's economic slowdown, marked by the
subprime mortgage crisis, loss of business confidence, poor corporate
profits and a sharp drop in stock prices.
A year ago, Davos attendees predicted the global economy would move
ahead with confidence. But now many seemed to share a glum mood that the
world could be sliding into recession.
"We're in Round 1 or 2. This is a 15-round fight," said Guillermo Ortiz,
governor of the Central Bank of Mexico, suggesting the worst might yet
be coming.
Billionaire George Soros called for a radical cure -- the imposition of
heavy regulation and oversight over financial markets whose participants
he accused of using "excessive" freedom to create "not a normal crisis
but the end of an era."
"Authorities ought to go in and examine the books" of financial
institutions, and provide assurance that "they will rescue and even take
over banks that become insolvent," Soros said.
He argued the U.S. Federal Reserve has kept interest rates too low for
too long.
Soros predicted a realignment of power and wealth, with the developed
world suffering a recession while the developing world continues to grow.
Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin suggested his country and others
with large gold and currency reserves could help the world economy
weather the crisis by providing a financial cushion.
"Of course, we have become more dependent on the world economy, and this
(crisis) will affect us, but we have a good system of defense and
immunity," he said. "And therefore I think it will affect us less than
the leading markets."
Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in
Singapore, said Asia, too, might weather the storm. If China's economic
growth is reduced this year to 7-8 percent instead of the 10-11 percent
it has registered in recent years, "that's not bad," he said.
Others painted a bleak picture for the United States.
Nouriel Roubini, chairman of New York-based Roubini Global Economics,
said it was no longer a case of America sneezing and the rest of the
world catching a cold, because "in this case the U.S. is going to have a
protracted case of pneumonia."
"It's not about a soft landing or a hard landing," he said, but "rather
how hard a landing it will be."
Still, some were more upbeat in the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve
Bank's decision to cut its benchmark refinancing rate to 3.5 percent
from 4.25 percent.
"The United States economy will correct itself," said David O'Reilly,
chairman and CEO of Chevron Corp. "I'm an optimist when it comes to the
length of what may be a slowdown or a mild recession. ... the outlook is
still pretty good."