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2013-11-24 Afghanistan
Signing Timeline Still Unresolved, Karzai Firm on Preconditions
[Tolo News] After President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
caught U.S. officials off-guard on Thursday when he said the Kabul-Washington security pact would not be signed until after the April elections, there remains no resolution to the timeline debate. While U.S. officials have said the agreement needs to be finalized before the end of the year, Karzai has refuted those assertions and reemphasized his preconditions for the pact to be sealed.

According to officials in Karzai's office, in a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
, Karzai maintained that there was no timeline for signing the agreement. He was reported to have repeated once again that if the Loya Jirga approves the BSA, it would not be signed until after the April elections.

"There are no timelines from the government of Afghanistan's side," Deputy Spokesperson for President Karzai Adela Raz said.

According to procedure, whatever whatever decision the Loya Jirga makes, which it is expected to share on Sunday, both house of the Afghan National Assembly would have to approve the accord before it could be signed by Karzai.

U.S. officials were caught off-guard when Karzai said the agreement wouldn't be signed until after the elections earlier this week. They have urged Afghan officials to reconsider that stance as they argue plans for residual troop forces and other logistics must be worked out before the spring, as the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
combat mission draws to an end in December of 2014.

The U.S. would be expected to keep some 10,000-15,000 troops in Afghanistan post-2014 for training, advising and assisting the Afghan forces as well as maintaining a counterterrorism initiative against groups like al-Qaeda, if the BSA is signed

According to Raz, Karzai also spoke to Secretary Kerry about his continued preconditions for the agreement to be finalized between the two nations.

"There are preconditions that the United States should consider; support of the grinding of the peace processor, end to operations in the houses of Afghans, transparent elections and peace and stability in Afghanistan," she said.
Posted by Fred 2013-11-24 00:00|| || Front Page|| [2 views ]  Top

#1 We need their approval, to LEAVE?
Posted by Skidmark 2013-11-24 11:48||   2013-11-24 11:48|| Front Page Top










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