Barack Obama orders security officials to improve relations with Hamid Karzai

[G_j]

Source: Guardian UK

Barack Obama orders security officials to improve relations with Hamid Karzai
Afghan president will shortly arrive in Washington for a potentially fraught meeting

Andrew Clark, New York
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 9 May 2010 18.37 BST

Barack Obama has ordered his top officials to take a gentler approach towards the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, who arrives in Washington tomorrow for a potentially fraught meeting after a period of prickly disagreements over troop withdrawals, corruption and security.

According to the Washington Post, Obama has told his national security team to show more respect to Karzai and to pull back from public criticisms of the Afghan leader, who was re-elected last year in a contest marred by deep irregularities.

Relations have soured in recent months, with Karzai alarmed that the US has set a deadline of July 2011 for the start of troop withdrawals. Last month Karzai accused foreign governments, including the US, of causing fraud in last year's presidential election and even reportedly threatened to join the Taliban if he did not get better treatment.

The relationship hit a low point after a visit by Obama to Kabul at the end of March, when Karzai took offence at remarks made by the White House's national security adviser, James Jones.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/09/hamid-karzai-washington-visit

[msongs]

1. let's audit all the money spent on afghanistan since 2002, particularly how much is

lining the pockets of Karzai and his various clan buddies.

Msongs

[ConcernedCanuk]

2. Dammm - "Barack Obama orders" - "George Bush orders"

.
.
.

same old

same old . . .

USA is NOT the king of the World

and they are flailing miserably pretending to be a superpower.

USA should a spent more time talking

but bombs are easier . . .

USA never "got it" that killing millions of people across the globe doesn't make friends

(sigh)

[The Northerner]

5. +1

[harkadog]

3. We can improve our relationship if we withdraw. Now.

[scentopine]

4. our billions going to prop up a narco state dictator stealing every dime and keeping

the people in Afghanistan in utter poverty, fueling American hatred. Your tax dollars at work.

[G_j]

6. "pull back from public criticisms"

is how they put it
how to treat a con artist?