REUTERS | ANALYSIS-U.S. raises hackles with Karzai, looks for change

Flikr photo by N_Creatures used under a Creative Commons license. PCR Project Co-Director Karin von Hippel was quoted in a news article on the relationship between the U.S. and Afghanistan’s President Karzai. Both President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have openly criticized the detachment and ineffectiveness of the central government in Kabul, where terrorist acts have become more brazen than ever. Karzai has reciprocated harsh words and is much more concerned with re-election than cordial U.S. relations. According to former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad, himself an Afghan-American, the tough line the new administration has taken towards the failing government in Kabul has been counterproductive. Two factors: the emphasis Obama has placed on Pakistan; and the shift in focus to local administration, has come at a bad time for Karzai’s re-election campaign. Even after a poor start, Karin von Hippel determines that:

In the best circumstance they [the Obama administration] work with him [Karzai] behind the scenes, help him counter corruption and they reduce things that upset the Afghan public, such as civilian casualties.

Solving the crisis in Afghanistan will requires Afghan leadership, as well as cooperation from the leadership in Islamabad – and it will take U.S. leadership to facilitate this approach.