Karzai threatens to join Taliban

Afghan President Hamid Karzai twice threatened to quit politics and join the Taliban if the West continued to pressure him toenact reforms, legislators said Monday.

Karzai issued the threat during a private meeting with Afghan lawmakers on the weekend. People at the meeting said they thoughtKarzai's comments were aimed at hardline members of parliament.

The comment isthe latest in a string of outbursts that have drawn criticism from foreign backers. Last week, Karzai accused the UN and the international community of carrying out a "vast fraud" as part of a plot to deny him re-election.

White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs called the latest Karzai remarks troubling.

"On behalf of the American people, we're frustrated with the remarks," he told reporters on Monday.

The comments came to light as Karzai paid a visit to theKandahar City area south of Kabul.It was his first visit to the volatile south in almost 15 months.

Karzai criticizedfor violence

The Afghan president toured one community where dozens of residents died in an explosion several weeks ago. Local residents said they lived in constant fear and sharply criticized him for not doing enough to stop the violence.

Later,community leaders told Karzai they were worriedabout NATO's planned spring offensive, whentroops are expected to launch the largest operation in the eight-year-old war against the Taliban.

But Karzai told the local leadersthere wouldn't be an offensive.

"Our partners are here to help, but we run this country as Afghans," Karzai said.

A U.S. general who was with Karzai at the meeting remained silent.

NATO forces are under intense pressure to minimize civilian casualties,becausethe deaths of innocentsundermine Karzai's precarious hold on power and boost support for the insurgency.

On Monday, NATO confirmed that international soldiers were responsible for the deaths of five civilians in February, including three women.

NATO also announced Monday that its soldierskilled 10 militants in an early morningraid on a compound near the Pakistani border. No civilians were harmed, the militaryorganization said.