Well, it doesn't get any more bizarre than this...
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused foreign election observers of fraud during last year's disputed vote.
Fraud had been widespread, Mr Karzai conceded, but he blamed foreigners for it, saying the UN was its focal point.
Mr Karzai singled out Peter Galbraith, the then deputy head of the UN mission, who he said had organised the fraud.
He accused Mr Galbraith of feeding details to the international media in an attempt to blacken his name. Mr Galbraith called the claim incredible.
"There was fraud in the presidential and provincial election, with no doubt there was massive fraud," Mr Karzai said.
This will have to be a wake-up call to Administration officials that think it will be possible to successfully work with, much less rehabilitate, the current Afghani administration.
This takes place just days after President Obama spoke with Karzai in person.
On a trip lasting just a few hours, he met Afghan President Hamid Karzai and stressed the need to tackle corruption.
Mr Obama said he wanted to see progress continue on Afghan efforts to fight against drug-trafficking.
Mr Karzai will visit the US in May for talks, it was announced.
President Obama would do well (as he usually does, being a careful student of history) to avoid the mistakes made by American presidents in similar situations in the past. It could be tempting to encourage or assist in a coup d'etat (like the US did in Vietnam when we had disagreements with the South Vietnamese president, Ngo Dinh Diem.
Likewise, it might be tempting to throw money at the problem, hoping that a financially-sated Karzai will not have as much of a need for unchecked power or for involvement in opium trafficking. We have repeatedly seen, however, in Iran (under the Shah) in Israel under Likud, in Central America (under the right-wing juntas of El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, etc.), and elsewhere, that unequivocal support of tyrannical regimes accompanied by 'constructive engagement' does not work.
Here's a recipe for 'success:'
a. Use any means necessary (within those allowed by the Geneva convention) to wipe out al-Quaeda and the Taleban leadership in Afghanistan as quickly as possible.
b. Get the hell out of Afghanistan.
c. Work through the UN and in cooperation with progressive muslim organizations to promote human rights there.