In the meantime, the bilateral agreement could fall apart. Twelve years after the start of the war, Afghanistan is still a basket case. Karzai has spent years walking a political tightrope, objecting to night raids by US Special Forces, assailing American airstrikes that have killed many civilians - once even threatening to join the Taliban himself. Indeed, in his speeches to the loya jirga, Karzai stressed that civilian casualties are an explosive issue.