- Oct 7, 2011
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Nice 'friend' we have in Karzai huh? How much Blood & Treasure have we spent keeping that jerk in power? This is not how friends treat each other. So forget the Villages, let's get the Hell out of the Country completely. Nothing more to be gained over there. Bring our kids home now.
The American campaign in Afghanistan suffered a double blow Thursday: President Hamid Karzai demanded NATO troops immediately pull out of rural areas in the wake of the killing of 16 civilians, and the Taliban broke off talks with the U.S.
The setbacks effectively paralyze the two main tracks for ending the 10-year-old war. Part of that exit strategy is to gradually transfer authority to Afghan forces while another tack is to pull the Taliban into some sort of political discussions with the Afghan government.
Karzai also said he now wants Afghan forces take the lead for countrywide security in 2013, a year ahead of schedule. He spoke as Afghan lawmakers were expressing outrage that the U.S. flew the soldier suspected in civilian killings to Kuwait Wednesday night when they were demanding he be tried in the country.
"Afghan security forces have the ability to keep the security in rural areas and in villages on their own," Karzai said in a statement after meeting visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. He said he had conveyed his demand to Panetta during their meeting.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai confirmed that Karzai was asking for NATO to immediately pull back from villages and rural areas to main bases.
Karzai is confident that Afghan security forces know "a thousand times better than any foreign troops the culturally sensitive ways of dealing with their own people," Mosazai said.
If the NATO troops did pullback, it would leave vast areas of the country unprotected and essentially mean the end of the strategy of trying to win hearts and minds by working with and protecting the local populations.
Read More:
Karzai tells NATO pull back, Taliban-US talks off - Yahoo! News
DRUDGE REPORT 2012®
The American campaign in Afghanistan suffered a double blow Thursday: President Hamid Karzai demanded NATO troops immediately pull out of rural areas in the wake of the killing of 16 civilians, and the Taliban broke off talks with the U.S.
The setbacks effectively paralyze the two main tracks for ending the 10-year-old war. Part of that exit strategy is to gradually transfer authority to Afghan forces while another tack is to pull the Taliban into some sort of political discussions with the Afghan government.
Karzai also said he now wants Afghan forces take the lead for countrywide security in 2013, a year ahead of schedule. He spoke as Afghan lawmakers were expressing outrage that the U.S. flew the soldier suspected in civilian killings to Kuwait Wednesday night when they were demanding he be tried in the country.
"Afghan security forces have the ability to keep the security in rural areas and in villages on their own," Karzai said in a statement after meeting visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. He said he had conveyed his demand to Panetta during their meeting.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai confirmed that Karzai was asking for NATO to immediately pull back from villages and rural areas to main bases.
Karzai is confident that Afghan security forces know "a thousand times better than any foreign troops the culturally sensitive ways of dealing with their own people," Mosazai said.
If the NATO troops did pullback, it would leave vast areas of the country unprotected and essentially mean the end of the strategy of trying to win hearts and minds by working with and protecting the local populations.
Read More:
Karzai tells NATO pull back, Taliban-US talks off - Yahoo! News
DRUDGE REPORT 2012®
) It would be the best birthday present ever to know my son will never have to go there...3 times in Iraq has been more than enough!
