http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=US+seeks+to+smooth+relations+with+Afghan+leader&fr=ush-news&ygmasrchbtn=Web+Search US seeks to smooth relations with Afghan leader
Karzai has long chafed under what he considers *excessive international pressure*. Those complaints escalated when he lashed out *against the U.N. and the international community*, accusing them of *perpetrating a "vast fraud*" in last year's presidential polls as part of a conspiracy to deny him re-election or tarnish his victory — accusations the U.S. and the United Nations have denied. A few days later, Karzai told a group of parliament members that if foreign interference in his government continues, the Taliban would become a legitimate resistance — one that he might even join, according to several lawmakers present. Karzai associates have said the president considers Western complaints of corruption a smoke screen to *discredit his government* and *draw attention from the fact that most of the billions in international aid have been spent and managed by foreign capitals themselves and not mismanaged by his government.*
