His Washington visit is being keenly watched here after recent public spats between the US and Afghan leaders on issues of governance and corruption.
Many here view the visit as an attempt to renew his legitimacy and receive the political backing he needs for possible peace talks with the Taleban.
Karzai has said publicly that he felt undermined by Washington, even while President Barack Obama greatly expanded a faltering war against insurgents seeking to topple the Afghan leader.
The visit reflects the Obama administration’s recognition it must deal with Karzai in a more straightforward manner — as the elected leader of a country where US forces are fighting and the only partner the United States has as it tries to wind down the war, analysts said.
So, in a public display of unity, Karzai arrived in Washington with a large delegation of Cabinet ministers for four days of meetings this week.
The ten members of Karzai’s cabinet, including Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak, will hold in-depth discussions with their counterparts about development priorities and other issues.
Bringing these ministers with him — many with strong backing from the international community — is an attempt by Karzai to show critics here that while bribery and graft exist within some ministries, there are many cabinet officials committed to progress and reform.
Karzai will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday, and Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday. Although no formal state dinner will be held at the White House, he is scheduled to have dinner with Biden, an event intended to be seen as a fence-mender. Last month Biden was furious when Karzai said publicly that if foreign interference in his government continued, the Taleban would become a legitimate resistance — one that he might even join.
Karzai will face close questions about that statement when he sees members of Congress on Wednesday and Thursday.
One challenge for the administration this week is to talk tough about Karzai’s duty to crack down on corruption without preaching, and without making Karzai look like a US flunky to his countrymen. US officials acknowledge that the sheer size of the foreign military and civilian operation in Afghanistan invites even more corruption, because it spends so much money.
Even if the US believes Karzai is a flawed leader, it cannot afford to alienate him because he is key to a successful American exit from the war.
Karzai, however, is not expected to be coddled by US lawmakers who are currently deciding whether to approve the Pentagon’s request to spent $192 billion US on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the next year and a half — $33 billion of it for Afghanistan.
The trip is occurring as NATO is preparing to launch an assault in southern Kandahar province. Also, the Taleban are attempting to steal the spotlight from Karzai’s trip to Washington by threatening to launch a series of attacks across Afghanistan.
The Taleban said their Spring offensive will target Afghan and NATO military and staff plus foreign contractors, and would begin on the same day that Karzai began meetings in Washington.
Meanwhile, a new poll shows that the American public’s take on the war there has tilted back to negative, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
A majority says the war in Afghanistan is not worth its costs.
Despite the shift in views on the war, Obama’s ratings for handling the conflict have remained positive since the unveiling of the new strategy — 56 percent approve, 36 percent disapprove.