It’s nice to see Obama’s diplomacy paying off in so many places. Karzai is still stalling on a status of forces agreement with us, and has already signed a security treaty with Iran. No American should want to have our troops stay in Afghanistan for another day, far less ten years.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/hamid-karzai-deal-with-iran-boosts-talibans-prospects-for-return-to-power/article/2540515#
Hamid Karzai deal with Iran boosts Taliban’s prospects for return to power
Photo – Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani during their meeting at Tehran’s Saadabad Palace in Iran on Dec. 8. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani during their meeting at…
By now, we should be more used to — and less tolerant of — Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s machinations.
Over the last decade, he has pitched many a tantrum at U.S. officials trying to get his cooperation. His latest eruption is no tantrum.
He’s refused to follow the advice of his national council — the loya Jirga — to sign a long-term agreement allowing U.S. forces to stay in his country past 2014. And he’s signed a security treaty with Iran.
Karzai’s refusal of the U.S. deal drew an angry reaction from National Security Advisor Susan Rice, who said there would be no further negotiations.
The White House has made clear its threat to withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 if Karzai doesn’t sign the agreement before the end of this year, and Karzai isn’t budging.