Witness once again our Smart Diplomacy™ in action — er, inaction:
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan has been engaged in secret contacts with the Taliban about reaching a peace agreement without the involvement of his American and Western allies, further corroding already strained relations with the United States.
The secret contacts appear to help explain a string of actions by Mr. Karzai that seem intended to antagonize his American backers, Western and Afghan officials said. In recent weeks, Mr. Karzai has continued to refuse to sign a long-term security agreement with Washington that he negotiated, insisted on releasing hardened Taliban militants from prison and distributed distorted evidence of what he called American war crimes.
On the one hand, Karzai has totally sold us out — which reminds me of nothing but the story of the scorpion and the frog. On the other hand, when your negotiating partner is none other than the feckless Professor Ditherton Wiggleroom, can you really blame Karzai?
He means to keep his life, his position, and maybe even his power. This to him is almost certainly the only way to accomplish those goals.
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