 Most Afghans support President Hamid Karzai's bid to have long-term security ties with the United States, the president's spokesman said after a gathering of more than 1,000 chiefs and regional leaders on Sunday. The question of whether US forces should be given permanent bases in Afghanistan has sparked debate in a country with a long history of resisting foreign intervention and in a region where big powers have long competed for influence.
| Given their history — all of it — they should maybe give serious consideration to developing some long-term alliances... |
Afghanistan's relationship with the United States was one of the main issues Karzai raised with the assembly of national representatives he summoned for talks on Sunday. "Our findings from today's discussions were that people, on the whole, (are) very positive about this, and I think that people are thinking, by and large, exactly the same line as we had expected," Karzai's spokesman Jawed Ludin told a news conference after the assembly. Karzai would discuss Afghanistan's strategic relations with the United States when he meets President George W. Bush on a US visit this month, Ludin said. The possibility of permanent bases was raised in February when US Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, said during an Afghan visit they would be in the interests of US and regional security. |