The new Bob Woodward book Obama’s Wars is sparking no small number of smaller stories in pre-release leaks, but one of the more unusual tidbits is a claim by Woodward that US intelligence reports claim Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been diagnosed as having manic depression, more commonly called Bipolar Disorder in the US.
It went on to speculate that Karzai has been receiving not-entirely-successful treatment for the problem, and that this is the source of the occasionally strained ties between Karzai and the US government. US envoy Karl Eikenberry is quoted directly as speculating that Karzai is “on his meds” then “off his meds.”
Which leads to the question of whether this is an honest assessment of Karzai from US officials or just another in the growing series of claims adding to doubts about Karzai’s position in the Afghan government.
During the most recent row, in April, President Karzai angrily threatened to join the Taliban during a speech made to members of parliament. This led to weeks to back and forth accusations, culminating with former US Ambassador Peter Galbraith implying that Karzai was an opium addict.
That fight calmed down after a time, but whenever the worsening war becomes an issue in the US questions about Karzai’s rule become a top issue. It seems this will provide yet more ammo for those in the Obama Administration looking to replace him.
How convenient! When Our Man In Kabul stops being so much of a lapdog and starts talking to The Other Side, there's a perfect made-for-tv-news explanation: HE'S CRAZY ! Of course, it couldn't be because he's seeing a downside to being tied to the US presence in his country, or that he's tired of seeing his countrymen killed each and every day for someone else's fantasy of empire- no, it couldn't be any of those things. (And yes, I'm perfectly aware that being bipolar isn't necessarily referred to in polite conversation as 'being crazy', but it's patently obvious the usage of it in this case is meant in a derogatory sense to explain away Karzai's behavior.) Way to go, team- announce to the world that your ally- The Man You Picked- isn't 100% all the time; of course the Taliban will respect that and slack off their attacks now, won't they?
that was US intelligence was it?
Do not for get that Karzi is an American citizen
The whole family Galbraith family is corrupt and I am speaking from experience.I hear that they make money on the side selling visas to foreign nationals.
Karzi was placed by the US to do its bidding. Karzi would happily have done it had the US lived up to his naive view of the US being the "white Knight". But of course, he found out that the US will murder and bomb without regard to afghan civilians. So now he is to be smeared by the US smear machine.