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Hamid Karzai says US cutting supplies to put pressure on security pact Hamid Karzai says US cutting supplies to put pressure on security pact
(about 2 hours later)
The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, and his national security council have accused the United States of cutting military supplies, including fuel, to put pressure on the country to sign a security pact, a statement from Karzai's palace said on Sunday. The US embassy in Kabul denied that supplies had been cut. The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, and his national security council have accused the United States of cutting military supplies, including fuel, to put pressure on the country to sign a security pact, a statement from Karzai's palace said on Sunday.
Tensions between Karzai and his American backers have escalated since the Afghan president said last week that he would not sign a crucial bilateral security deal until a suite of new requirements had been met – despite the deal already being agreed upon. The US embassy in Kabul denied that supplies had been cut. US officials said logistical problems in Pakistan might have given rise to the alleged delays in deliveries. In a statement, the Nato-led force in Afghanistan said: "There has been no stoppage in the delivery of requested fuel and we continue to process all orders as soon as they are received."
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/>Karzai's relationship with the United States has worsened since he invited thousands of elders to vote on the security deal last week and then ignored their advice, which was to sign it promptly. The pact's terms were settled after about a year of wrangling, but Karzai has since added conditions that include the release of all Afghan prisoners from Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and an end to military operations involving Afghan homes.
On Thursday, Karzai denounced his Western allies for bombing an Afghan home and killing a child, an accusation the Nato-led force has promised to investigate.
If the bilateral pact is not signed, western aid running to billions of dollars will be in jeopardy and confidence in the fragile economy could collapse amid fears that Afghanistan will slip back into ethnic fighting or civil war. Diplomats said Karzai may have overplayed his hand, raising the risk of a complete US withdrawal from a country where western troops have fought Taliban militants for the past 12 years. Karzai's domestic critics say he is playing a dangerous game with Afghanistan's future security.
On Sunday Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the US Senate intelligence committee, had strong words for Afghanistan's president over his refusal to sign the deal. Feinstein, appearing on CNN's State of the Union talkshow, said she thinks Hamid Karzai "is such a cipher" and added that Karzai was "so much the victim of what thought occurs to him right at the moment based on some anger that he feels about something that may not even be related".On Sunday Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the US Senate intelligence committee, had strong words for Afghanistan's president over his refusal to sign the deal. Feinstein, appearing on CNN's State of the Union talkshow, said she thinks Hamid Karzai "is such a cipher" and added that Karzai was "so much the victim of what thought occurs to him right at the moment based on some anger that he feels about something that may not even be related".
In Kabul, the issue was raised during a Sunday meeting of the Afghan national security council.In Kabul, the issue was raised during a Sunday meeting of the Afghan national security council.
"The meeting concluded that the cutting of fuel supplies and support services to the Afghan army and police is being used as a means of pressure to ensure Afghanistan … signs the Bilateral Security Agreement [BSA] with the US," said a statement from the presidential palace."The meeting concluded that the cutting of fuel supplies and support services to the Afghan army and police is being used as a means of pressure to ensure Afghanistan … signs the Bilateral Security Agreement [BSA] with the US," said a statement from the presidential palace.
The BSA is a decade-long security deal which would mandate the size and shape of the US military presence in Afghanistan once the Nato combat mission ends next year. Without it, the United States would be unable to maintain troops in the country; it would likely also precipitate the withdrawal of the military forces of most other nations. The BSA is a decade-long security deal which would mandate the size and shape of the US military presence in Afghanistan once the Nato combat mission ends next year. Without it, the US would be unable to maintain troops in the country; it would likely also precipitate the withdrawal of the military forces of most other nations.
Last week an assembly of Afghan elders, known as a Loya Jirga, endorsed the security pact, but Karzai suggested he might not sign it until after national elections next spring.
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