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U.S. relations with Pakistan are nearly frozen. And to make matters worse, relations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai are getting frosty again. Over the weekend, Karzai surprised Americans, demanding that the largest U.S.-run prison be turned over to Afghan control sooner than planned.
As NPR's Quil Lawrence reports, this is the latest in a series of announcements by the Afghan government - moves that appear designed to embarrass and annoy U.S. officials and to complicate American plans to withdraw from Afghanistan.
QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE: A special commission named by President Karzai gave a news conference over the weekend at the Government Media and Information Center. The multi-million dollar facility was built by U.S. government donations, but it's become the venue for increasingly anti-American announcements by the Karzai administration.
It was here last month that Afghan officials condemned Americans for causing civilian casualties in the war against the Taliban, without mentioning that 80 percent of such deaths are caused by insurgents, according the United Nations. The U.S. Embassy pulled out its team of advisors from the media center the same day.
Most recently, the topic was prisons.
GUL RAHMAN QAZI: (Foreign language spoken)
LAWRENCE: Gul Rahman Qazi read a list of prisoners' complaints about ill-treatment in the largest U.S.-run prison in Afghanistan. Americans say they're taking the allegations seriously, but U.N. monitors say conditions in the American prison are not nearly as bad as in most Afghan facilities.
The prison had been slated for transfer to Afghan control this year in any case, but President Karzai has demanded it be turned over this month. It's not clear whether that's possible, but the sudden announcement took the American Embassy by surprise.
That was intentional, says Afghan political analyst Omar Sharifi.
DR. OMAR SHARIFI: First, he has to show his anger and that's one of the ways to show his anger. And, on the other hand, it also sends a message that it's impossible to have anything meaningful without the Afghan government.
LAWRENCE: Karzai is angry, Sharifi says, because he feels that the Americans are trying to by-pass him on a number of issues, especially in efforts to start peace talks with the Taliban. American officials have been meeting with Taliban figures over the past year. And last month, they secured an offer from Qatar to open up a Taliban office, where preliminary negotiations can begin. But the Taliban have, for years, ruled out talks with Karzai, who they see as illegitimate.
When news of the Qatar office leaked, Karzai withdrew the Afghan ambassador in Qatar. A few days later, Karzai relented. But observers say he's still feeling angry and out of the loop.
Many recent announcements by Kabul have been in retaliation, says Sharifi. But Karzai is also in the process of negotiating a strategic partnership deal with Washington, which may involve long-term U.S. military bases here. Karzai needs to show the Afghan public that he's not a yes-man for the Americans, says Sharifi.
SHARIFI: He wants to establish his credentials as a guy who is tough to negotiate and also who's capable of delivering. Now, about the delivering part, we have to wait and see.
LAWRENCE: Karzai's tough demands are popular with most Afghans, but it's dangerous for him to keep making them because it makes him look weak when the U.S. doesn't comply, according to Kate Clark, of Afghan Analysts Network in Kabul.
KATE CLARK: The Americans have basically up to now put pretty well all their eggs in the Karzai basket. And Karzai needs the Americans to survive. Most Afghans don't think he'd survive a day without American forces and American money. So, in a way, they're in bed together. And, you know, both partners irritate the other occasionally. But it's like - it's sort of like a dysfunctional marriage where neither side feels it can walk out.
LAWRENCE: The American initiative for negotiations with the Taliban may be the first step outside that marriage. And Clark says President Karzai is making clear his irritation and his fear of being abandoned.
Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Kabul.