Eikenberry: Ups and downs in Karzai partnership - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Eikenberry: Ups and downs in Karzai partnership

The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan danced away from questions Monday about his earlier reported concern that the war-torn nation’s president was not an “adequate strategic partner,” saying only that “President Obama has expressed his confidence in President [Hamid] Karzai and our work together.”

Ambassador Karl Eikenberry told reporters at the White House that bilateral partnerships such as the Washington-Kabul relationship “experience ups and downs” but that “what measures true partnership is the ability when the stakes are as high, as they are for Afghanistan and the United States of America, to be able to work our way through difficulties and come back together and still find ourselves well-aligned.”

Eikenberry’s tepid response underscores the fragile relationship between the U.S. and Afghanistan governments and displays some of the came concerns voiced by other officials and members of Congress about whether the hard-fought efforts of U.S. troops — 1,061 of who have died since the 2001 invasion — will produce the independent Afghanistan that remains the U.S.’s strategic goal.

An effective Afghanistan government with its own forces able to independently secure the country is a key to the Obama administration’s counterinsurgency strategy for victory in the 8½-year war, along with defeating Taliban insurgents.

Asked later again whether his earlier concerns had been allayed, Eikenberry said only that Karzai is “the elected president of Afghanistan ... and, of course, I highly respect President Karzai ... in that capacity.” When the question was reiterated, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stepped in and said, “I think he answered.”

Eikenberry did acknowledge that “progress has been made” in Karzai’s inaugural promise to increase his nation’s accountability, noting in particular the new powers and greater autonomy granted the High Office of Oversight, Afghanistan’s top anti-corruption body.

In two classified cables obtained last fall by The Washington Post, the U.S.’s top man in Afghanistan expressed concern about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan before Karzai’s government rid itself of rampant corruption and governance issues. Eikenberry also reportedly stated that Karzai was not an “adequate strategic partner.” A war of words between the two governments has followed, culminating in Karzai’s April threat to “join the Taliban” if the outside pressure on his government continued.

Although similar concerns remain among many in the administration, the tepid Eikenberry endorsement is probably the only sour note the administration will strike over the next four days during Karzai’s visit to Washington for strategic talks, as Obama has reportedly ordered internal criticism to be tamped down and is rolling out the red carpet for the much-maligned leader.

Karzai might not face such friendly audiences during Wednesday and Thursday meetings with members of Congress, although House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said Karzai will be received in Washington with “great dignity, great friendship and great candor,” according to The Associated Press.

Related reading:

• Tension looms over Karzai-Obama talks