With few options, U.S. accepts Karzai

Clinton said when Karzai accepted the runoff, “that bestowed legitimacy from that moment forward.” She did not mention that Karzai agreed to the runoff only after strong American pressure, including marathon talks with Sen. John Kerry. Now the U.S. administration must deal for the next five years with an Afghan leader whom Obama once described as suffering from a “bunker mentality” and out of touch with his own country.

“We are fed up with this government,” said Kabul shopkeeper Shah Mohammad Husseini. “The situation is getting worse and worse and worse. I want a government that has the power to implement laws and doesn't deal with warlords.”

Nevertheless, the options among Afghanistan's pool of potential leaders are limited. Others such as Abdullah carry ethnic or historical baggage dating back to their roles in the civil war that devastated the country in the 1990s and led to the rise of the Taliban. Abdullah, a former foreign minister, is widely seen as the candidate of the northern Tajik community, which accounts for about 15 percent of Afghanistan's people. He was an ally of a late, legendary warlord beloved by fellow Tajiks but despised by the Pashtuns who are Afghanistan's majority — because of the warlord's role in the civil war. Karzai named a different former Tajik warlord as his running mate to draw off Tajik votes.

As for Pashtuns, Karzai, the son of a Pashtun tribal chief, has long held their support. That ethnic group makes up more than 40 percent of Afghanistan.

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