Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in the midst of a full-blown war of words with his primary international backer, the United States. Over the past few weeks he has accused Washington of interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, of falsifying the elections, of pursuing its own interests in Afghanistan at the expense of the Afghan people, and other charges that have many wondering about his mental stability. Washington, for its part, is criticizing Kabul for corruption and inefficiency, and debating whether it has a reliable partner to carry out its plans for Afghanistan.

Inside Afghanistan, observers chalk up the flap to Karzai’s well-known penchant for flip-flops on foreign policy; the Afghan president seems to take delight in alternating harsh criticism with conciliatory language and gesture, which is confusing for both his citizens and his international partners.

“Karzai has no sustainable foreign policy or stable stance towards foreign countries,” said parliamentarian Kabir Ranjbar. “This is a major weakness of his personality as well as of his government, and it damages Afghanistan’s reputation, both domestically and internationally.”

Political analyst Waheed Mojdah disagrees.

“Karzai has a specific policy towards foreign countries,” he insisted. “He has always demanded that the Americans consult with Afghan government in advance of military operations, and he has objected strongly to their irresponsible actions. This has caused significant tension in the relations between the two countries lately.”

Mojdah attributes some of the problem to the change of government in Washington.

‘Karzai was a puppet of the Republicans,’ he said. “But the Obama administration pays much less attention to Karzai and his government than George Bush did.”

Still, added Mojdah, some of the friction is inevitable.

“In a country where foreign troops are deployed, where they control the situation and have the power to take unilateral decisions, it is difficult for the domestic government to act independently,” said Mojdah. “For example, any decision made by the United States regarding Iran directly affects Afghanistan, because Washington controls the situation, and can do whatever it wants. The Afghan president has a difficult time adopting a clear position on an issue because he is under the influence of those countries whose troops are deployed in his country.”

Karzai is in the unenviable position of having to rely on foreign troops, and various countries may have their own foreign policy interests in Afghanistan. But he has been showing his impatience lately, and warning that he might go to other countries for assistance if his foreign backers do not adequately equip and train Afghan military forces. In the wake of a fairly public spat with Washington, he invited Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Kabul, where he delivered a fiery anti-American speech.

“The Americans may sometimes want to support Afghanistan in some areas but not in others,” explained Mojdah. “The United States may also be under the influence of Pakistan, which does not want Afghanistan to have strong domestic forces. This may be the reason for Karzai’s warnings.”

But political analyst Mahmood Saiqal is not so ready to give Karzai the benefit of the doubt.

“Karzai is weak,” said Saiqal. “He shows no understanding of issues and receives irresponsible counsel from his advisors. The result is very bad.”

Ranjbar agrees.

“The issues must be clearly and deeply considered,” he said. “There should be evidence to back up any assertions. For example – why do we need more troops in Afghanistan? This should be discussed – it is wrong to accept things without proof.”

Karzai shows a worrying tendency to change his tune depending on circumstance, Rajbar pointed out.

For instance, Ranjbar pointed out, sometimes the president criticizes Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism, but then he visits Islamabad and calls Pakistan the best friend of Afghanistan. Iran has been repeatedly accused of arming the insurgency, but the Afghan government never brings this up officially.

“When the leader of a country has no specific plan or policy on issues it causes many problems,” said Ranjbar. “Our policy towards Iran is very unclear. We do not know what our president wants from Iran or from the United States. Is he trying to keep a balance between them to protect Afghanistan’s national interests? Sometimes we see that Pakistan is interfering directly in our internal affairs, but the president keeps silent. Conversely, he sometimes attacks Pakistan verbally for no specific reason.”

Karzai’s ineffectual foreign policy bides ill for the country, added Ranjbar.

“We will fail as long as we do not have a clear policy,” said Ranjbar. “Karzai does not have the ability to lead the country.”

Mojdah defends Karzai’s foreign policy, saying that circumstances, not the president, have changed.

“Afghanistan did not have good relations with Pakistan in the past, but after (President Asif Ali) Zardari assumed the leadership, the two neighboring countries improved their ties,” he said. “The situation with Iran has not changed; the United States says that Iran is interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, but President Karzai has repeatedly stated that there is no evidence to prove such allegations. In general, Karzai’s stance vis a vis neighboring countries is unchanged, except for Pakistan.”

While analysts debate the fine points of Karzai’s foreign policy, Afghan citizens have a more immediate gripe with their president: they complain about bad governance and corruption, and claim that Karzai has not fulfill the promises he made during his inauguration last November.

Corruption has indeed marred Afghanistan’s international reputation: Transparency International named it the second most corrupt country on earth in its latest index. But, say Afghans, the president has yet to undertake any significant measures to combat it. He has maintained officials in his government who have been publicly accused of embezzlement and other crimes; his own family has come under attack for abuse of power.

Observers warn that the results can be catastrophic. “Karzai’s current policies and actions in Afghanistan increase people’s dissatisfaction with the government and pave the way for war, said Ranjbar. “The current problems exist because Afghanistan has not had a good system over the past eight years. Karzai has not been able to form a good tam that can lead the country towards prosperity and repair our reputation in the world. The result of all of this is perpetual war.”