Here’s a tidbit that seems to have been overlooked from the Gates book. It could explain a lot……
Gates: U.S. Tried to Oust Karzai in ‘Clumsy Putsch’

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has long accused the Obama administration of trying to secretly force him out of power. Turns out he may be right.

Lost in the political controversy surrounding former Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ new memoir is a fascinating account of a failed administration attempt to ensure that Karzai was defeated in the 2009 Afghan elections. Gates is harshly critical of the move, which he derides as a “clumsy and failed putsch” that did significant damage to the U.S.-Afghan relationship.