Surely President Hamid Karzai has enough experience with the United States, nine years into our war in his country, that he understands the uproar that accepting money from Iran will engender. And he certainly did President Obama a favor, claiming the payments began in the Bush administration with the president's knowledge.
Still, it's difficult not to see President Karzai cozying up to Iran as part of his preparing for a U.S. withdrawal; and the faster our time line, the greater likelihood he will try to counter Pakistan's looming influence. After all, President Karzai has long maintained that Al Qaeda is solely in Pakistan, with the Afghan people suffering for problems the Pakistani government won't solve.
