Will Obama Remove Karzai?

Looks like our man in Kabul isn't behaving himself. According to Helen Cooper in the New York Times:

Administration officials have made no secret of their growing disenchantment with Mr. Karzai, who is viewed by the West as having so compromised himself to try to get elected — including striking deals with accused drug dealers and warlords for political gain — that he will be a hindrance to international efforts to get the country on track after the election.

But Mr. Karzai, in a feat of political shrewdness that has surprised some in the Obama administration, has managed to turn that disenchantment to an advantage, portraying himself at home as the only political candidate willing to stand up to the dictates of the United States, according to Western officials.

That Mr. Karzai is capitalizing on anti-Western sentiment shouldn't surprise anyone, least of all the Obama administration. After all, their commanding general in Afghanistan has said explicitly in his orders to his troops that Afghans resent foreign forces on their soil. This is a gold-plated opportunity for Karzai to do some populist posturing.

This posturing, however, presents an obvious quandary for the administration. Mr. Karzai is in power because of the U.S. His government is sustained by tax payer dollars and protected by the lives of American servicemen and women. Naturally, they're going to expect a level of obedience gratitude. If it's not forthcoming, there will almost certainly be voices inside and outside the administration that will begin calling for his ouster. The longer the vote count continues and the more accusations of fraud surface, the easier it will be for the administration to rationalize a move against Karzai.

(AP Photos)