Harsh Words by Afghan Leader Add Tension to Hagel Visit

KABUL, Afghanistan — President Hamid Karzai leveled particularly harsh accusations against the United States on Sunday, suggesting that Americans were destabilizing his country and casting a shadow over a visit by Chuck Hagel, the new American defense secretary.

The sharp words came in the wake of weeks of episodes that Mr. Karzai views as an affront to Afghanistan’s sovereignty — civilian deaths in airstrikes, accusations of abuses by American Special Operations forces and most recently, the last-minute refusal by American officials to give Afghanistan full control of Bagram Prison because of a disagreement about the continuing American role there.

After an announcement that a joint news conference with Mr. Hagel and Mr. Karzai had been canceled amid “security concerns,” the two men met for private discussions and dinner. Afterward, Mr. Hagel, making his first trip to Afghanistan as defense secretary, said late Sunday that the two had “a very direct conversation.”

“I know these are difficult issues for President Karzai and the Afghan people,” said Mr. Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska. “And I was once a politician. So I can understand the kind of pressures — especially leaders of countries — are always under.”

More...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/world/asia/karzai-accuses-us-and-taliban-of-colluding-in-afghanistan.html?_r=0