Obama Has Much to Untangle with Karzai

IT'S TOO EARLY to evaluate President Obama's strategy in Afghanistan. Many of the additional U.S. troops have yet to arrive, and a crucial offensive in the southern city of Kandahar is just getting underway. But there are causes for concern -- chiefly, the lack of strategic and tactical cohesion among the Afghan government, U.S. military commanders and the U.S. Embassy.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who arrived in Washington Monday, appears lukewarm about the Kandahar offensive and has been slow to pursue needed government reforms. He is intent on negotiating with the Taliban -- a plan that U.S. officials regard dubiously. Meanwhile, the U.S. commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, and Ambassador Karl Eikenberry repeatedly have been at odds over tactical matters, such as whether to form village militias and how to boost electricity supplies in Kandahar.