The associated press is reporting today that:

Karzai says the U.S. is “absolutely” acting like a colonial power in its attempts to force him to sign the bilateral security agreement by the end of this year.  The paper quoted him as saying: “The threats they are making, `We won’t pay salaries, we’ll drive you into a civil war.’  These are threats.”

Ya think?

President Obama had no interest in a slow wind-down in Iraq, which would have preserved the gains made by the GWB administration, so he used the pretext of Iraqi resistance to the US position on a new Status Of Forces (SOF) agreement as an excuse for bugging out.  However, he does want a slow wind-down in Afghanistan, so he is pressuring Karzai to accept essentially the same provisions.  And, to help protect the US forces that will be there for years, I hope he continues the pressure until we get an acceptable treaty.