Afghanistan's Karzai to urge caution as U.S. pushes to empower local leaders - washingtonpost

The U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is built around the belief that all good counterinsurgency is local. In recent months, American officials have focused their plans on pushing power and money down to district, tribal and village leaders.

But those plans have not sat well with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has argued that any weakening in his position could fracture the central government and undermine his ability to woo Taliban fighters away from the insurgency.

Since Obama's pledge to begin withdrawing U.S. troops in mid-2011, some factional leaders inside the national and local governments and the insurgents themselves have begun maneuvering for a post-U.S. future. The maneuvering has only intensified Karzai's fears of American abandonment. - Afghanistan's Karzai to urge caution over U.S. plans

Remarks at Reception in Honor of Afghan President Hamid Karzai‎ - US Department of State