White House Threatens to Cancel Karzai Visit

The White House may cancel a visit by Hamid Karzai if the Afghan president continues to make volatile statements. Karzai is supposed to come in May, but press secretary Robert Gibbs said his erratic behavior has the administration thinking twice, reports CNN. Karzai's recent bombshells include blaming foreigners for electoral fraud and stating he would join the Taliban if he keeps being pressured by the West.

Relations with Karzai have become so strained that Gibbs was unwilling to state that the Afghan president is an "ally" of the US. Prodded by a reporter from ABC News, Gibbs gave a long-winded answer explaining that Obama's relationship with Karzai was based on the merit of his day-to-day actions, not unequivocal trust. He called Karzai's recent statements "troubling" and "confusing."
(More Hamid Karzai stories.)