Karzai's turning uppity

Karzai’s designated role consists of three basic elements.

First, while sustaining the fiction that he governs his country, he must turn a blind eye to the reality that NATO forces, along with various Western development agencies, actually run the place.

Second, when foreign soldiers kill or maim Afghan civilians in the course of operations intended to win hearts and minds, Karzai needs to accept NATO’s apologies at face value and stay out of McChrystal’s way.

Third, rather than tolerating the corruption endemic to Afghan politics, he needs to do for Afghanistan what Americans have had a hard time achieving in Illinois and Louisiana.

But, these days, Karzai seems to be following the Diem playbook…

Karzai’s best chance of avoiding Diem’s fate lies in tapping into this growing unease. Speaking through the media, he needs to convince Americans that his vision of Afghanistan’s future is superior to McChrystal’s — that he can ensure that Afghanistan will never pose a threat to the safety of Americans.

This task may be difficult, but it is far from impossible.