Global General

Karzai, Obama create image of clean slate in Washington

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-13 10:12

Karzai, Obama create image of clean slate in Washington

US President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai shake hands at the conclusion of their joint news conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington May 12, 2010. [Agencies]

Drama? What drama? That's the message coming out of a meeting Wednesday morning between President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The relationship between the leaders has been rocky at best amid continued tensions over the US role in Afghanistan; and the Obama administration has lately been pressing Karzai to do more to redress widespread government corruption in his country.

But at a White House news conference Wednesday morning, Obama made a point of downplaying any lingering tensions. "A lot of them were simply overstated," Obama insisted to reporters. But, he acknowledged, "obviously there are going to be tensions in such a complicated and difficult environment." Karzai concurred: "There are moments when we speak frankly to each other, and that frankness will only contribute to the strength of the relationship."

In spite of the nice talk, it's hard not to note the contrast between Karzai's four-day visit to Washington and his previous meetings with Obama and his aides. This week Karzai is receiving the same diplomatic rollout he enjoyed during the Bush administration, when he was considered one of the country's key allies: a one-on-one meeting with the president, a sit-down with the secretaries of state and defense, a joint news conference and a dinner with the president and vice president.

It's all a far cry from Karzai's first Obama-era visit to Washington, a year ago. Then the White House declined to schedule a joint news conference between Obama and the Afghan leader, and it limited the number of private meetings between Karzai and Obama officials. When Obama did briefly meet the press, he was joined by both Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

At the time, a senior White House official told reporters that the Obama administration was simply trying not to appear it was favoring any particular candidate in Afghanistan's presidential elections. But the next several weeks saw a long round of anonymous sniping about Karzai sourced to Obama officials, so in retrospect the visit came off as a snub.

And since then, the relationship has only worsened. In a surprise March visit to Kabul, Obama pressed Karzai on the issue of government corruption. A week later, Karzai reportedly threatened to join the Taliban — a statement he later denied making.

Wednesday's news conference sought to erase all the awkward events of the past year. There was no talk of corruption, and only a rare mention of another topic that has US officials unnerved: Karzai's relationship with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "Iran is our neighbor, and a brother, and we want to have the best of relations with them," Karzai said in response to a question about his dealings with Iran. American officials, he said, were "very clear and supportive and understanding of the Afghan position."