*** OOPS! : KARZAI QUESTIONES THE RELIABILITY OF THE US

[link to www.washingtontimes.com]

Afghan President Hamid Karzai questioned the reliability of the United States as a partner Sunday, as he fought off criticism of his government's legitimacy following fraud-marred elections.

Mr. Karzai's main challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, warned in an interview with CNN that the U.S. strategy would not succeed without a credible partner in Kabul, blaming Mr. Karzai for deteriorating conditions.

But underscoring the political headache that Washington faces if Mr. Karzai wins a runoff against Mr. Abdullah next month, Mr. Karzai pointed the finger at the United States in a separate, pre-recorded CNN interview.

"Is the United States a reliable partner with Afghanistan? Is the West a reliable partner with Afghanistan?" Mr. Karzai asked. "Have we received the commitments that we were given? Have we been treated like a partner?"

Mr. Karzai said a partnership to him was "where the Afghan lives are respected, where Afghan property is respected, where the Afghan traditions are respected, where we know the direction we are moving to."

The comments appeared to allude to Mr. Karzai's longstanding criticism of civilian deaths in U.S. air strikes, and to President Obama's still-unresolved review of U.S. strategy and a request by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, for up to 40,000 more troops.

Mr. Abdullah said more troops were needed to stabilize the country, but he said that after eight years of war, Afghanistan should have been in a position to ask for fewer troops, not more.

"We are not there. Why? Because of the failures of the current administration in Afghanistan," he told CNN. "Any success for the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan will depend on the credibility of your partner, on the legitimacy of your partner."

Mr. Abdullah suggested that only his own victory in November's head-to-head contest against Mr. Karzai would set his country on a path toward viability and better relations with international partners in Washington and around the world.