KABUL — Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., arrived in Kabul on Tuesday for another tough diplomatic mission amid newly strained relations between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Washington that have undercut U.S. political support for the 9-year-old war.
Ten months after he played a pivotal role in persuading Karzai to agree to a runoff after a corruption-plagued presidential vote, Kerry returned to the Afghan capital with a firm new message: Karzai must allow the country’s new anti-corruption departments to do their job.
“President Karzai and his government need to understand that there is no patience for endless support for something that doesn’t meet higher standards with respect to governance,” Kerry told a small group of reporters between meetings with the Afghan leader.
Kerry is seeking assurances from Karzai that he will allow the anti-corruption groups to make headway on one of the more thorny issues the two countries face.
Earlier this month, Karzai announced plans to impose more oversight on the Major Crimes Task Force and the Sensitive Investigative Unit after the groups orchestrated the arrest of a well-placed Karzai government leader.
Karzai accused the investigators of using rough tactics on suspects, and he vowed to bring the groups into line.
The president’s response raised concerns in the Obama administration, however, that Karzai was trying to quash legitimate investigations and protect his allies.
“This test is an important one for him and the government, and he knows that there are people on both sides of the aisle in Congress who are anxious about what’s happening here,” said Kerry, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
