Afghan leader jeopardizes security pact: WSJ

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Obama administration plans to keep thousands of troops in Afghanistan for years to come were thrust into doubt on Thursday when Afghan President Hamid Karzai unexpectedly called for delaying a long-term security deal until his successor is elected next spring, said a report published in Wall Street Journal.

The surprise move, which Mr. Karzai announced in a televised address before a special Afghan council that will advise him on the deal, cast a new cloud of uncertainty over the fate of the security pact. The administration warned that failure to complete the agreement by the end of the year could force the U.S. to pull out of Afghanistan altogether in 2014.

Mr. Karzai's remarks came less than 24 hours after Afghan and U.S. leaders ironed out a disagreement over the circumstances when U.S. forces could enter Afghan homes, paving the way for a final agreement after a year of contentious negotiations.

This week, Mr. Karzai during a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry requested a letter from President Barack Obama admitting U.S. "mistakes" in the war and recognizing the suffering inflicted on Afghans by U.S. forces. Mr. Karzai wanted the letter as a condition to dropping his objections to U.S. forces raiding Afghan homes in exceptional circumstances.

Mr. Obama replied with a letter Thursday morning, Mr. Karzai said, but its text—initially released by Kabul—fell far short of the Afghan demands. The letter didn't acknowledge any American mistakes and said the U.S. has redoubled its efforts to ensure that U.S forces respect Afghan homes.

Mr. Obama's letter also raised the "enormous sacrifices" made by American soldiers in Afghanistan and said U.S. troops wouldn't enter Afghan homes unless there is "urgent risk" to U.S. nationals.

Mr. Karzai, in an hour-long address to the Loya Jirga gathering, told Afghan politicians that the "agreement should be signed when the election is conducted, properly and with dignity."

"There is mistrust between me and America," he told the advisory body. "I don't trust them, and they don't trust me."

Both American and Afghan officials expressed surprise at Mr. Karzai's announcement and tried to determine if he was throwing a last-minute wrench in the process, compelling the U.S. to pull all its forces out of Afghanistan—as it did in Iraq in 2011 after a similar deal fell through.

"We need to have that agreement signed by the end of the year," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters on his plane while en route to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a security conference.

"Until we have a signed Bilateral Security Agreement that essentially gives us the assurance that we need to go forward, I don't think the president is going to commit to anything," he said. "He said that. And my advice to him would be to not."

At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest said: "It is important for this security agreement to be approved and signed by the end of this year so that preparations can start being made to plan for the post-2014 presence that the United States may have in Afghanistan."

It wasn't immediately clear whether Mr. Karzai's Pashto-language remarks represented a final policy decision. Reached hours after the speech, Mr. Karzai's spokesman, Aimal Faizi, said that "peace, security and a good election are key to the signing" of the security pact.

A senior Afghan official, however, said Mr. Karzai might reconsider if requested to do so by the Loya Jirga, whose roughly 3,000 delegates are scheduled to deliberate on the deal for three more days. Mr. Karzai approved the list of the assembly's participants; most of them had been selected by provincial authorities.

In his speech, Mr. Karzai didn't direct the delegates to vote in favor of signing the deal with the U.S., asking only that they do what is in "the best interests of Afghanistan."

U.S. officials pressed for the security agreement to be implemented this month. A lengthy delay, such as the one outlined by Mr. Karzai, almost certainly would derail American and allied plans to maintain a limited training and counterterrorism force in Afghanistan after 2014.

Afghan leader jeopardizes security pact: WSJ | WORLD - geo.tv