Kerry Opposes Afghan Delay on Security Deal

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/23/world/asia/kerry-opposes-afghan-delay-on-security-deal.html

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WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry talked with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan on Friday to express displeasure with his plan to put off signing the two countries’ security deal until next year, and a State Department spokeswoman said the delay threatened relations between Washington and Kabul.

Failure to sign the agreement in the coming weeks “would be seen as a signal to the world that Afghanistan is not committed to a partnership with its supporters and that it is willing to jeopardize all of the financial and practical help that has been offered,” the spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, told reporters.

“So further delay is not practical, nor is it tenable,” she added.

Mr. Kerry spoke on the phone with Mr. Karzai a day after the Afghan president told his country’s council of tribal elders, the loya jirga, that even if members approved the agreement, he would wait until after the April presidential election to sign it.

It was only this week that the United States and Afghanistan agreed on the final language, which would allow American troops to remain until 2024.

But in his speech to the loya jirga — an address in which he was alternately outraged, emotional and humorous — Mr. Karzai was brusque: “They don’t trust me, and I don’t trust them.”

The remarks were a surprise to officials in both Washington and Kabul, and Ms. Psaki said Friday that with no agreement, it would be “challenging” for the United States to keep troops in Afghanistan after next year.

Ms. Psaki said administration officials speculated that Mr. Karzai’s speech had been a form of public negotiation, a strategy he has used in the past.