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Politics
White House hosts tense dinner date
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 28, 2006
WASHINGTON - President Bush drew Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai together for a meal at the White House on Wednesday and urged the two bickering war-on-terror allies to find ways to put aside their differences. "Today's dinner is a chance for us to strategize together, to talk about the need to cooperate, to make sure that people have got a hopeful future," Bush said, flanked by the two leaders in the Rose Garden. "It's very important for the people in Pakistan and in Afghanistan to know that America respects religion, and we respect the right for people to worship the way they see fit," he said. Judging by the body language Bush himself had said he would be watching, there were plenty of tensions to overcome over a light dinner of soup, sea bass and salad. Bush spoke as the Afghan and Pakistani leaders stood stiffly on either side of him. Musharraf remained expressionless during his host's brief remarks, while Karzai repeatedly nodded agreeably. Karzai and Musharraf never touched. Each took Bush's hand before turning to go inside, but not each other's.
[Last modified September 28, 2006, 00:39:01]
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