Karzai Defies Obama

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is looking to move up the date of the country's next presidential election to May, even though the United States, the election commission, and the international community prefer the poll to be held in August for security reasons. According to Reuters, Karzai's decision causes a "collision course" for one of President Obama's top priorities: stabilizing the increasingly volatile country where he has just deployed an additional 17,000 troops. But, Reuters reports, "Bringing the polls forward would not give the U.S. troops time to even arrive in the country."