CIA Man Is Key to U.S. Relations With Karzai

[maddezmom]

CIA Man Is Key to U.S. Relations With Karzai
By SIOBHAN GORMAN
The Obama administration has turned to the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in Afghanistan to troubleshoot Washington's precarious relationship with President Hamid Karzai, propelling the undercover officer into a critical role normally reserved for diplomats and military chiefs.

The station chief has become a pivotal behind-the-scenes power broker in Kabul, according to U.S. officials as well as current and former diplomats and military figures. In April, when Mr. Karzai lashed out against his Western partners, it was the station chief who was tapped by the White House to calm the Afghan president.

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The unusual diplomatic channel is in part a measure of how fragile U.S. relations with the mercurial Afghan president are.

"Karzai needs constant reassurance," said one former colleague of the station chief, and the chief is his "security blanket."

The CIA's prominent role in Afghanistan is fraught, the spy agency having clashed at times with the official diplomatic mission. That has complicated the civilian component of the U.S. military surge.

more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704741904575409874267832044.html?mod=WSJ_World_LeadStory

[Demeter]

1. Having the CIA Breathing Down My Neck Would Not Reassure Me

Less spin, more truth, please! (MSM)

[bemildred]

2. So then, things are going just great? nt