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Karzai an 'unworthy partner': top US Democrat
WASHINGTON: Calling Afghan President Hamid Karzai an "unworthy partner," a key Democratic leader warned Friday that Congress cannot fund an expanded military mission without a reliable ally in Kabul.
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, said moreover she did not think there was political support for sending more US troops to Afghanistan, as President Barack Obama is contemplating.
"How can we ask the American people to pay a big price in lives and limbs, and also in dollars, if we don't have a connection to a reliable partner?" said in an interview with National Public Radio.
"So, you know, the whole thing is let's not just talk about troops. Let's talk about what is the strategy and what are the resources that are needed in that regard?"
Her comments reflected the deep discomfort among Obama's Democrats over calls by US military commanders for a major buildup in troops to stem a growing Taliban insurgency.
The White House said a decision on whether to send more troops would not come until after the Thanksgiving holiday on November 26.
Currently, there are some 68,000 US troops in Afghanistan, but the options under consideration are reported to range to up to more than 40,000 additional troops.
Pelosi and other Democrats opposed a similar surge in US troops to Iraq two years ago, arguing at the time that more troops were needed in Afghanistan, the main front against Al-Qaeda.
Pelosi acknowleged that since then the conflict in Afghanistan has become more pervasive, reaching parts of the country that before were relatively free of violence.
"That says one of two things: Either we need many more troops so that we -- this doesn't continue to happen, which I don't think there's any support for. Or we need to reevaluate what our approach has been for the past eight years," she said.
"But we see also, over the course of that time, the president of Afghanistan has proven to be an unworthy partner," she said, referring to Karzai, who was sworn in this week to a second five year term.
"We cannot fund a mission where we don't have a reliable partner and where whatever civilian investments we want to make -- which are so necessary -- will be diverted for a corrupt purpose," she said.
WASHINGTON: Calling Afghan President Hamid Karzai an "unworthy partner," a key Democratic leader warned Friday that Congress cannot fund an expanded military mission without a reliable ally in Kabul.
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, said moreover she did not think there was political support for sending more US troops to Afghanistan, as President Barack Obama is contemplating.
"How can we ask the American people to pay a big price in lives and limbs, and also in dollars, if we don't have a connection to a reliable partner?" said in an interview with National Public Radio.
"So, you know, the whole thing is let's not just talk about troops. Let's talk about what is the strategy and what are the resources that are needed in that regard?"
Her comments reflected the deep discomfort among Obama's Democrats over calls by US military commanders for a major buildup in troops to stem a growing Taliban insurgency.
The White House said a decision on whether to send more troops would not come until after the Thanksgiving holiday on November 26.
Currently, there are some 68,000 US troops in Afghanistan, but the options under consideration are reported to range to up to more than 40,000 additional troops.
Pelosi and other Democrats opposed a similar surge in US troops to Iraq two years ago, arguing at the time that more troops were needed in Afghanistan, the main front against Al-Qaeda.
Pelosi acknowleged that since then the conflict in Afghanistan has become more pervasive, reaching parts of the country that before were relatively free of violence.
"That says one of two things: Either we need many more troops so that we -- this doesn't continue to happen, which I don't think there's any support for. Or we need to reevaluate what our approach has been for the past eight years," she said.
"But we see also, over the course of that time, the president of Afghanistan has proven to be an unworthy partner," she said, referring to Karzai, who was sworn in this week to a second five year term.
"We cannot fund a mission where we don't have a reliable partner and where whatever civilian investments we want to make -- which are so necessary -- will be diverted for a corrupt purpose," she said.
