Obama sends letter to Karzai seeking reconciliation

The letter, delivered Thursday by U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry in Kabul, thanked Karzai for organizing Obama’s visit there late last month on short notice and “recommitted” the United States “to the success of our operation and our partnership,” national security adviser James L. Jones said…

Jones said Karzai “did not intend to create any damage to the relationship” with speeches, made after Obama’s visit, in which he charged that Western “interference” in Afghanistan risked turning the Taliban into a legitimate resistance movement that he might join himself.

Shaida Mohammed Abdali, Afghanistan’s deputy national security adviser, said in an interview that Karzai’s remarks had been misinterpreted. Instead of attacking the West, he said, Karzai was warning that a deteriorating security situation, and problems such as those in last year’s presidential election, could damage both Afghan and U.S. interests.