It is not surprising that Karzai, derisively called "the President of Kabul" by critics, faces increasing opposition. Recent allied forces' attacks killing and maiming civilians have infuriated the populace. The article's narrow view is limited to official government and NGO support ignores several other crucial factors. It omits tribal and familial circles that wield tremendous traditional power. The Pakistani ISI and Talibani subversion is huge. It is impossible to assess the government's stability without discussing infrastructure destroyed by successive wars since the early '70-'s and an economy reduced to drug cartels dealing Opium. The link to Human Terrain Team is much more complete than the article.