Taliban break Washington contacts, Karzai orders US out of villages
AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban broke off contacts over peace talks with
Washington on Thursday and the Afghan president demanded US troops leave
village outposts, just days after an American soldier massacred 16
villagers.
Hamid Karzai also called for a transition of the nation's security
from NATO control to the Afghan government in 2013 rather than the
previous deadline of 2014, after meeting visiting US Defence Secretary
Leon Panetta.
That plan had been floated by Panetta ahead of a NATO meeting in
Brussels last month, but the US-led coalition insists that it will only
withdraw its combat troops by the end of 2014.
The announcements from the Islamist militia fighting US troops for 10
years and by Karzai, Washington's key ally in Kabul, came hard on the
heels of the shooting spree by a US soldier, who has been detained and
flown out of the country.The fallout overshadowed Panetta's two-day
visit to Afghanistan, which was planned ahead of the shooting and was
aimed at calming relations already hurt by last month's burning of
Korans at a US base.
The Taliban made no mention of the killings as it announced the
suspension of contacts with US officials in Qatar over a prisoner swap
-- talks that had built up hopes of a political solution before US
troops leave.
“It was due to their alternating and ever-changing position that the
Islamic Emirate was compelled to suspend all dialogue with the
Americans,” the Taliban said on their website.
US officials declined to comment on why the Taliban had suspended
contacts.
The rapid developments came after what US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton called “a difficult and complex few weeks in Afghanistan”.
“We're ready to take over all security responsibilities now,”
Karzai's spokesman Aimal Faizi quoted the president as telling Panetta.
“We'd prefer that the process be completed in 2013, not 2014.” Karzai
then told Panetta that US-led international forces should “be withdrawn
from villages and relocated in their bases”, his office said in a
statement, without specifying a timeline.
It was not immediately clear how many American bases may be affected
by Karzai's demand, as the United States previously disbanded a number
of outposts in a bid to concentrate on securing major towns from Taliban
influence.
US defence officials sought to play down Karzai's calls on the
outposts and said Kabul had not requested any change in an agreed
timetable for a gradual troop drawdown.A US official accompanying
Panetta, who arrived in Abu Dhabi after his visit to Afghanistan, told
reporters Kabul had agreed with NATO on a schedule for security
transition through 2014 and that had not changed.
Panetta's spokesman George Little said the Pentagon chief and Karzai
had a “very positive” meeting and that the “issue of villages” came up
but in accordance with previously agreed plans.
NATO meanwhile vowed to stick to its plan to finish handing Afghans
control of security nationwide by the end of 2014.
Panetta earlier told reporters after his Karzai talks that he was
“confident” both sides could work out a treaty allowing a US military
presence in the country beyond 2014.The defence chief said he was
optimistic that both sides would reach an agreement on controversial
night raids -- a major issue blocking the treaty -- ahead of a NATO
summit in Chicago in May.
Karzai objects to the raids on the grounds that they violate the
sanctity of Afghan families in their own homes and that they are
responsible for many civilian deaths -- a claim the US disputes.
The treaty being negotiated is expected to cover Afghan-US relations
beyond 2014, with the US keen to maintain a foothold in a country
neighbouring Iran and to help prevent it from once again becoming a
haven for Al-Qaeda.
Analysts fear Sunday's shootings could complicate talks on a possible
long-term US troop presence, as the government has so far refused to
grant them legal immunity -- the same issue that scuppered a US
strategic pact with Iraq.Panetta said he promised Karzai that the gunman
would be brought to justice and that the Pentagon would look at what
circumstances may have caused the incident -- including the possible
effect of combat stress.
But his visit was also overshadowed by an unprecedented security
breach during his arrival in Afghanistan Wednesday when an Afghan
interpreter tried to ram a truck into US Marines waiting to greet the
Pentagon chief at Camp Bastion.
Panetta downplayed the attack, telling reporters: “I have absolutely
no reason to believe that this was directed at me.” But the incident is
likely to heighten concerns about a surge in attacks on Western troops
carried out by the Afghan allies they are training to take over
responsibility for security. AFP |