Karzai's defiant stance concerns U.S., other Afghans - washingtonpost

"When I heard Karzai's remarks, it really shocked me. It scared me," a senior Afghan official who works closely with Karzai said. "We should not take this lightly. This is a golden opportunity to have the West here; we can't squander it."

Karzai's comments have angered U.S. officials and some of his prominent Afghan colleagues in the government, who fear he is jeopardizing international funding and military support because his pride has been injured.

Karzai wanted Obama to publicly praise his plans for a "peace jirga," the planned meeting of tribal elders and political leaders to discuss reconciliation with insurgents, said the senior Afghan official, who requested anonymity in order to speak candidly. Karzai also wanted support for his views on how to reform the electoral law ahead of parliamentary elections in September.

What he got was Obama prodding him to perform. He pushed Karzai to keep two foreigners on an elections commission that investigates fraud; to appoint cabinet ministers based on merit rather than personal ties; and to fight corruption by giving more authority and independence to the corruption oversight agency, among other things. Karzai saw the visit less as a public show of partnership than the United States coming to scold an ineffectual leader, according to his supporters.

"Our most important ally is constantly criticizing us: 'You're corrupt. You need to do this and that,' " said Hekmat Karzai, director of the Center for Conflict and Peace Studies in Kabul, and a cousin of the president. "You cannot talk down to the Afghans like they're children or they don't understand."

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