Monegan's backers asserted that Palin had fired him because he refused to sack her ex-brother-in-law, a state police officer who had been involved in a bitter custody dispute with Palin's sister.
For some Americans, the crucial test of Mr Karzai's seriousness in tackling corruption is his willingness to sack Ahmed Wali Karzai, his half-brother, who lords it over the south as head of Kandahar's provincial council.