Erratica explained

The US government, which was largely responsible for the installation of Hamid Karzai as president of Afghanistan, has found him to be a frustrating choice. He doesn't always say what the State Department wants him to say. Sometimes he admits that he wants the U.S. out of his country. Sometimes he's agreeable. Sometimes he cries at press conferences. Sometimes he speaks the words of a seriously paranoid and angry man who is very willing to bite the hand that pushed him into office.

Veteran political write Bob Woodward has a new book out. In it, he states that a big reason for Karzai's unpredictability is quite straightforward. He has a confirmed diagnosis of bipolar disorder, but he won't stay on his medication.

What a fabulous quality in a world leader. The BP on its own can have benefits, but when being off medication leads to decisions that affect--and possibly endanger--millions of lives, then perhaps it's time to consider a career change.