The Obama-Karzai Relationship: A Rocky History
The relationship between the Obama administration and Afghan President Hamid Karzai has had many rocky moments. In fact, President Obama has described the tone of several of their conversations as blunt. On Friday, the two men will sit down at the White House to discuss a transition of military power that could see all or most of the U.S. troops in Afghanistan leave by 2014.
Their relationship is a clash of both personality and policy. The two men butt heads on negotiation styles and on several issues: Obama is concerned with Afghan government corruption, while Karzai is concerned with some instances of U.S. troop conduct.
Here is a look at the history of Karzai’s relationship with Obama and his top aides:
February 2008: Then-Sen. Joe Biden visited Karzai in Kabul to share concerns over corruption in his government. Biden was joined by Sens. John Kerry, recently picked to become the next secretary of State, and Chuck Hagel, Obama's recent nominee to be Defense secretary. Frustrated with Karzai’s response on the corruption issues, Biden famously threw his napkin on the table and declared, “This dinner is over.”
July 2008: During an international tour while campaigning for president, then-Sen. Obama traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan to meet with U.S. troops, making the trip with Hagel and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. The senators met with Karzai in Kabul and also went to a U.S. military base in Jalalabad. Obama and Hagel would later cite this trip as when the two became good friends, eventually leading to Hagel’s nomination earlier this week.
November 2009: Karzai is declared the winner of his reelection bid after rival Abdullah Abdullah dropped out of a run-off. Observers said the election was riddled with corruption and accused Karzai of voter fraud. There were also accusations of bribes and violent coercion. Upon reelection, Obama said Karzai had to focus on tackling corruption in his government, calling it a “new chapter.”
March 2010: In his first visit to Afghanistan as commander in chief, Obama pressed Karzai over cronyism and a lack of transparency in his government. Obama also urged the Afghan leader to help combat drug trafficking. The two would later meet at a NATO summit in November 2010.
December 2010: Obama made a surprise holiday visit to U.S. troops at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, thanking them for their service and assuring them that the United States and its allies were “making important progress.” But unlike other trips, Obama did not meet with Karzai. Officials said wind gusts prevented the president’s helicopter to make the trip down to Kabul. Obama did not wait for the weather to improve and left.
February 2012: After photos showing American troops urinating on dead Taliban militants were surfaced, Karzai lambasted the U.S. for disrespecting the dead. Obama both called and sent a letter to apologize to Karzai and the Afghan people for the soldiers' actions, emphasizing the long-term partnership between the two nations. Obama also apologized for an incident at Bagram Airfield, where Qurans were burned.
May 2012: On the first anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan to sign a strategic partnership with Karzai. The two men laid out framework to conclude the decade-long war, in which more than 2,000 Americans had died. “I’ve come to Afghanistan to mark a historic moment for our two nations and to do so on Afghan soil,” Obama said in Kabul. The two met again in Chicago for the NATO summit, finalizing their plans to transition military powers by 2014.
