Gates, Clinton stand behind Afghan leader

[unhappycamper]

Gates, Clinton stand behind Afghan leader
By Deb Riechmann - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Apr 12, 2010 6:19:36 EDT

KABUL — After days of discord, U.S. officials went one step farther in their new gentler approach to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, expressing sympathy Sunday for the pressure he faces and promoting him as commander in chief of the warring nation.

U.S.-Afghan relations grew tense earlier this month when Karzai, seeking to bolster his own political stature, lashed out against the U.N. and the international community, accusing them of perpetrating a “vast fraud” in last year’s presidential polls as part of a conspiracy to deny him re-election or tarnish his victory — accusations the U.S. and the United Nations have denied.

Two days later, Karzai told a group of parliament members that if foreign interference in his government continued, the Taliban would become a legitimate resistance — one that he might even join, according to several lawmakers present.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs described Karzai’s remarks as “troubling,” but the American tone quickly softened. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates blitzed Sunday morning news shows in the U.S. to call Karzai a reliable partner.

“I have to say that some of these outlandish claims that are being made and accusations that are being hurled are really unfortunate,” Clinton told CBS’ “Face the Nation” in an interview taped last Friday and aired Sunday.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/04/ap_afghanistan_karzai_041210/%20



unhappycamper comment: Question: Do Gates and Clinton stand behind Karzai for his corruption or suspected drug use? Karzai is becoming the new Ky. (Look up Ky if you don't know who he was.)

[marmar]

1. Gotta support our puppet, no matter how corrupt and/or crazy he is.

nt

[rpannier]

2. Pretty Much

+1

[kenny blankenship]

6. Is there a magnetic ribbon for that?

[KG]

3. i'm sure there's a 20 dimension chess game in here somewhere.

:eyes:

[marylanddem]

4. Didn't we install Karzai after 9-11?

In fact, I recall someone telling me that he was living in the D.C. area just before being installed...

[unhappycamper]

5. IIRC, Karzai was selected because he had some serious petroleum connections.

For some reason, 'UNILOCAL' seems to stick in my mind.

This occupation is an oil occupation, make no mistake.