Karzai may 'burn his bridges' with NATO over leaks: memo

by Staff Writers
Ottawa (AFP) Dec 1, 2010

A Canadian envoy warned that Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai may "burn his bridges" with NATO as a potential fallout of newly released US diplomatic cables, a Canadian paper said Wednesday.

In a diplomatic note to Ottawa obtained by the daily National Post, Canada's ambassador in Kabul William Crosbie echoed warnings by US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry.

The frank memo was written after the pair met last Saturday.

In it he says Eikenberry warned of a "potentially cataclysmic fallout" from the WikiLeaks whistleblower website's release of thousands of leaked embassy cables regarding Afghanistan.

"The main concern he (Eikenberry) has is that these leaks will reveal tactical and strategic political considerations and assessments as well as privileged relationships with members of the Karzai government and other leading figures in Afghanistan," he writes.

"Eikenberry believes these will feed Karzai's paranoia and mistrust of the US (and its allies); will put pressure on the reformers within the govt to leave and will drive Karzai evermore into a confrontational role with the US and NATO."

The Canadian government declined to comment on the Wikileaks storm.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Karzai_may_burn_his_bridges_with_NATO_over_leaks_memo_999.html.