Karzai Attacks West Again

A mere 24 hours after reaffirming his commitment to working with the U.S., Afghan President Hamid Karzai slammed the West for its involvement in Afghan affairs. At a private meeting with 60 to 70 lawmakers, Karzai didn’t hold back, The Wall Street Journal reports, threatening to join the Taliban if the Afghan parliament did not approve a measure allowing him to take over a U.N.-led elections watchdog commission that documented various instances of corruption during Afghani elections last year. Karzai accused Afghan lawmakers of being easily manipulated by the West and the West's attempts to install a "puppet” government in his state. He also blamed the insurgency on the West's meddling in Afghanistan, saying that “the only reason that the Taliban and other insurgent groups are fighting the Afghan government is that they see foreigners having the final say in everything," a lawmaker said. The scathing remarks came a day after Karzai phoned U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an effort to smooth over tensions between the U.S and Afghanistan following his previous verbal attacks.