From the State Department:

Briefing on U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns will be joined by Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah to brief the press on Tuesday, March 21 at 2:15 p.m. on the just-concluded United States-Afghanistan conference on implementing our Strategic Partnership. This briefing will be on-the-record and on camera and will take place in the Loy Henderson Conference Room of the Department of State (Room 1309A.)

This event is open for press coverage.
Pre-set time for cameras: 1:00 p.m. from the 23rd Street entrance
Final access time for all press: 1:45 p.m. from the 23rd Street entrance

We will be expecting questions (and answers) on: (a) Abdul Rahman, who faces a possible death penalty in Afghanistan for being an apostate to Islam (a crime we have discussed) and converting to Christianity; and (b) Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi, Yale student and unrepentent Taliban Ambassador and thug (see John Fund or our pieces – it’s all good). These issues are important.

(1) Rahman. The Rahman story is significant because it is about friendly Islam, not Islamism. If Islam is properly seen in our ally Afghanistan as a religion that puts Christians to death, what exactly can it mean to fight a war to win hearts and minds? Why not blow our enemies to smithereens and skip the part about being nice if what we get for our sorrow, blood and treasure are “friendly” governments willing to kill the co-religionists of 84% of Americans just for leaving Islam and adopting Christianity?

(To date, the MSM have largely skipped this story [we linked above to a rare piece] but we note that there have appeared in recent MSM stories, more than in past years, a number of pictures of Muslim self-mutilation with knives and blood to celebrate a grandson of Mohammed — we have seen this as a new part of the anti-war MSM subtext: why are you fighting for Iraqis? These guys are primitive and just gross. Ewwww.)

(2) Ramahtullah. The Rahmatullah story is important because it is yet another milestone in the unimaginable decline into moral relativism and away from common sense of our most storied institutions of learning. We have written several times over the last three years that those institutions protected by tenure — the Courts, the Universities, and officials of public employee unions — are cultural lagging indicators. They can continue to persevere in their Leftist agenda despite the fact that its time has passed from the majority culture, because they have lifetime sinecures. They too shall pass — but the degree of harm they continue to cause on their way out is their most baleful legacy.

To sum up, we will be very interested in the answers to questions posed by the MSM’s well-informed reporters on these noteworthy US-Afghanistan matters. If the press conference passes without even the questions being asked, that will be another data point on the MSM themselves. (HT: MM)

UPDATE

No word on Rahmatullah, but there’s this on Rahman, via Washington Times:

Briefing reporters with Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah at his side, Mr. Burns said the U.S. government was watching the case of Abdul Rahman closely, but added, “This case is not in the competence of the United States government. It’s under the competence of the Afghan authorities.” But the governments of Germany and Italy, which — like the United States — have substantial troop deployments in Afghanistan, lodged strong protests at the prospect of Mr. Rahman’s execution, with former Italian President Francesco Cossiga saying Italy should withdraw its 1,775 troops in Afghanistan if the death sentence is handed down. The Italian Foreign Ministry said Rome will move “at the highest level … to prevent something which is incompatible with the defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” California Rep. Tom Lantos, the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, demanded a strong official U.S. protest, calling the Rahman prosecution “outrageous” at a time when an international coalition of troops “are dying in defense of the Afghan government.”

UPDATE II

We note, via MM, that Rahman has been said to be mentally unfit to stand trial, according to a prosecutor (and presidential adviser) in Afghanistan. Michelle thinks this is bad news, but we think it may be the method Afghani officials use to get off the hook, since mental incompetence is a fully effective defense against charges of apostasy under sharia.

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