Despite past conflicts, White House sees Karzai as ally

[unhappycamper]

Despite past conflicts, White House sees Karzai as ally
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes online edition, Monday, May 10, 2010

WASHINGTON — Administration officials returned to same theme over and over at the White House on Monday: President Hamid Karzai is the elected leader of the Afghan people and a valuable partner in efforts to stabilize the region.

U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry said that U.S. and Afghan relations “have never been better aligned.” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Karzai understands what needs to be done to root out corruption in his country and is actively working to fix that.

The friendly tone on the eve of the Afghan president’s four-day visit to Washington is a sharp contrast from just a few weeks ago, when White House officials were hinting that Karzai may not be invited for the diplomatic summit.

In late March, Karzai publicly vented about lingering criticism of fraud in Afghanistan’s latest election, when he was re-elected to the presidency. He also accused Western nations of wanting a government of “puppets” and hinted that the U.S. might be more interested wiping out their enemies than helping the Afghan people.

But both sides have emphasized a message of cooperation and trust in recent days; On Monday, Gibbs said the two delegations prefer to “look ahead” instead of dwelling on past problems.



unhappycamper comment: Nothing new here.. The United States has been putting puppets in place since the 1890s.