Kabul: President Hamid Karzai's startling threat to join the Taliban if foreigners don't stop meddling in Afghanistan and his strident criticism of the West's role have worsened relations with Washington at a time when the US military wants closer cooperation ahead of a potentially decisive offensive this summer.
Karzai has been fuming for months about what he considers Washington's heavy hand. He's gambling that blaming outsiders for the troubles in a society with a long tradition of resisting occupation will bolster his stature at home — while carrying little risk because the US has no choice but to deal with him.
But managing the rift has now become a major problem for both sides, threatening even to rival the threat from the Taliban. President Barack Obama's strategy depends on working with a strong, reliable Afghan partner to turn back a resurgent Taliban, raising the question of what will happen if that partnership fails.
Karzai's comments suggest that his understanding of partnership differs from Obama's considerably. On certain issues, Karzai clearly wants Washington to back off.
White House reaction
"Troubling" is how White House spokesman Robert Gibbs described reports Monday that Karzai threatened to abandon the political process and join the Taliban insurgency if the West keeps carping at him to reform his government.
"On behalf of the American people, we're frustrated with the remarks," Gibbs told reporters.
"These comments can undercut the kind of support that we think we need on all sides of this equation if we're going to move forward," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. "Clearly, you know, what he says does have an impact back here in the United States and he should choose his words carefully."
In Brussels, Nato spokesman James Appathurai said the Western alliance was making an enormous effort to help the Afghan people defeat terrorism, and "we hope and expect that that is recognised by the Afghan people, including at the highest levels."
Karzai has long chafed under what he considers excessive international pressure. Those complaints escalated Thursday when he lashed out against the UN 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 US and the United Nations have denied.
Two days later, Karzai told a group of parliament members that if foreign interference in his government continues, the Taliban would become a legitimate resistance — one that he might even join, according to several lawmakers present.
"He said that ‘if I come under foreign pressure, I might join the Taliban,'" said Farooq Marenai, who represents the eastern province of Nangarhar. "He said rebellion" against a legitimate Afghan government "would change to resistance" against foreign occupation.
Two other parliament members gave the same account but asked that their names not be published to avoid problems with Karzai.
Calls to two Karzai spokesmen went unanswered because their mobile phones were shut off.
Insurgents killed
Afghanistan's military says 27 Taliban insurgents have been killed in ground fighting and airstrikes in a western province.
Western Afghanistan corps commander General Jalandar Shah Behnam says troops dropped by parachute behind Taliban lines in Badghis province helped trap the militants in an offensive launched by Nato and Afghan forces. He said fighting continued from the pre-dawn hours well into yesterday afternoon. He said that in addition to the 27 Taliban bodies collected, one Afghan soldier was killed and five wounded. One US soldier was wounded.
