Foreigners Not Welcome.(Burhanuddin Rabbani)(Brief Article)(Interview)

At 60, Burhanuddin Rabbani is the grand warhorse of Afghan politics. Known simply as "Professor," he founded the Jamiat-e-Islami party in 1971. A Tajik, like an estimated quarter of Afghans, he was revered as a national hero for his role in ousting the Soviets, but lost many supporters for stoking civil war during his presidency in the early 1990s. Now many believe that if he doesn't get his way, he'll be the first warlord to reignite armed conflict. For now, he's content to have members of his party in top posts in the Defense, Foreign and Interior ministries. He has toned down his fiery rhetoric and even gave interim President Hamid Karzai a hug on Inauguration Day. NEWSWEEK's Babak Dehghanpisheh met recently with Rabbani at his home in a posh Kabul neighborhood. Excerpts:

DEHGHANPISHEH: What do you think of the interim administration?

RABBANI: This government was formed on decisions made [at the Bonn Conference]. Decisions that were made in a hurry. I didn't want the world to think that I opposed peace so I gave my support. But this government is only here for six months. We can't expect them to do too much. There's no real parliament or elected government, and there's no reconstruction taking place.

Do you have regular contact with Karzai?

You probably realize that I put his name forth as a potential leader for the interim government. I don't want to interfere too much in his work, and I don't want to make it seem like there is a parallel administration. But if there is a pressing issue to discuss, I do speak to him.

Do you believe that he was brought to power through American interference?

The countries present at Bonn manipulated the process. They were probably working with good intentions, but this should be the last act of foreign interference in our domestic affairs. The growth of terrorist groups in the country was a result of foreign interference. All of our wars have been caused by foreign powers. If foreign meddling continues, the Afghan people will conclude [foreigners] don't want us to be free.