U.S. says Afghanistan's Karzai seeks new security deal conditions

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BY MARK FELSENTHAL
WASHINGTON Mon Nov 25, 2013 5:14pm EST

(Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in a meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice, proposed new terms for a deal governing troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and said he is in no hurry to sign the accord, the White House said on Monday.

"President Karzai outlined new conditions for signing the agreement and indicated he is not prepared to sign the BSA promptly," the White House said in a readout of the meeting between the two officials.

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In Kabul, Karzai's spokesman said the Afghan president wanted to the United States to halt all military operations on civilians' homes and return Afghan citizens held in the Guantanamo prison camp before the pact is signed.

Rice, who made a three-day visit to Afghanistan to visit U.S. troops, told Karzai it is "not viable" to defer signing the deal until after the election, the White House said.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/25/us-afghanistan-usa-rice-idUSBRE9AO0D020131125

[another_liberal]

1. Give Karsai what he wants. Get out completely.

We now plan to keep ten thousand troops in Afghanistan after the end of 2014, if we get a deal with the Afghan government. Ten thousand troops in Afghanistan will cost us well over ten billion dollars a year. That's right: it cost more than a million dollars to keep one soldier in Afghanistan for a year. Keeping ten thousand soldiers there for one year will cost us more than ten billion.

Who can think of a better way we might spend ten billion dollars?

[dipsydoodle]

2. As Karzai had already made it perfectly clear it would wait until next elections

I can only assume that Susan Rice both likes wasting her time and doesn't read DU.

"United States to halt all military operations on civilians' homes and return Afghan citizens held in the Guantanamo prison camp before the pact is signed" doesn't sound to be an unrealistic condition.

Ref to "civilians' homes" can be read as the Taliban. Karzai had also made clear previously that the Taliban would become completely off limits to the US who will become restricted solely to the pursuit of the suspected remaining 100 or so al-Qaeda members remaining in Afghanistan.

[ConcernedCanuk]

3. "return Afghan citizens held in the Guantanamo prison camp"

.
.
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That's outrageous!

I suspect he wants them ALIVE too!

durn Middle Easters;

nag, nag, nag.



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