Trust deficit in Kabul?

WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- A perceived trust deficit regarding Washington's support for Kabul could leave Afghan leaders wondering who to support, U.S. diplomats say.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai last week accepted the resignations of two of his top security officials following attacks on a tribal conference in Kabul. Both leaders were favored by U.S. military leaders in Afghanistan.

The relationship between Washington and Kabul stood on shaky ground following August presidential elections tainted by fraud. Karzai sought to repair those ties during a May visit to Washington, however.

Karzai during the weekend publicly backed counterinsurgency operations planned for Taliban strongholds in Kandahar. Top U.S. administration officials, for their part, heaped praise on Karzai on the Sunday news shows.

"(Karzai) remains a very important partner of the United States," Susan Rice, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, told Fox News Sunday.

But Ronald Neumann, the U.S. envoy to Afghanistan from 2005-07, told The Wall Street Journal that leaders in Afghanistan and Asia expressed doubts over the U.S. commitment to Karzai.

Neumann said both sides have overcome the "intense criticism" that haunted the relationship in the past, but questions remain over Washington's support.

"And if it's not sufficient, then where can Karzai look for support? It's not going to be good administrators," he warned. "They're not going to stand up to the Taliban."