Afghanistan's New President Declares His Love For Katz's Deli

The future of diplomacy and peace in the Middle East may very well rest on the pickle-brined shoulders of New York's famous deli sandwiches. That statement may be extremely hyperbolic, but it is a good sign that Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan's newly elected president, admitted that he loves New York's famous Katz's Deli. 

"I was another beneficiary of America's wonderful generosity," president Ghani said in an address to Congress this week, during a speech that addressed his familiarity with the United States, poked fun of retired Gen. David Petraeus, and explained that both of his children were born in New York. "I ate corned beef at Katz's, New York's greatest, greasiest, pickle-lined melting pot."

Perhaps this pickle-lined melting pot will help the president expedite the exit of the last troops from Afghanistan. But, as Grub Street quipped, can a man who orders the corned beef over the pastrami really be trusted? And thus the war between smoked meats (and, unfortunately, between the terrorists and the good guys) continues.