KABUL, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The United States and Afghanistan have agreed a final
version of a crucial security pact outlining where and how many U.S. troops can
remain in Afghanistan after most foreign forces leave the country next year, an
Afghan official said on Tuesday.
Thousands of Afghan tribal and
political leaders are due to gather in Kabul this week to decide whether to
allow U.S. troops to stay after the 2014 drawdown of foreign forces.
The
last-minute deal was reached just two days before they gather to debate the
pact. It will contain provisions to give U.S. troops immunity from Afghan law
and allow them to enter Afghan homes in exceptional
circumstances.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has long objected to both
but the United States has said the provisions are crucial in order for its
forces to remain in the country beyond 2014.
Aimal Faizi, a Karzai
spokesman, said the agreement was partly owed to a promise by U.S. President
Barack Obama to write a letter to the Afghan people acknowledging mistakes made
during the 12-year war.
"Both sides agreed that Obama send a letter ...
assuring the president and the people of Afghanistan that the right to enter
into Afghan homes by U.S. forces and the extraordinary circumstances will not
be misused," Faizi told reporters.
Previously, Karzai had planned to
present the tribal elders with two versions of the pact, which would have
increased the chances of key U.S. demands being rejected and it pulling all
its troops out after 2014.
"The whole idea of having a letter was to
acknowledge the suffering of the Afghan people and the mistakes of the past.
That was the only thing that satisfied the president," Faizi added.
The
letter is to be presented along with the draft at the meeting of tribal elders
that is due to start on Thursday and un for several days.
If the council
votes in favour of the pact with the United States, it will still need the
approval of both houses of parliament and the president's signature before it
is ratified.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/us-afghanistan-security-pact_n_4303696.html?utm_hp_ref=afghanistan-war-blog)
version of a crucial security pact outlining where and how many U.S. troops can
remain in Afghanistan after most foreign forces leave the country next year, an
Afghan official said on Tuesday.
Thousands of Afghan tribal and
political leaders are due to gather in Kabul this week to decide whether to
allow U.S. troops to stay after the 2014 drawdown of foreign forces.
The
last-minute deal was reached just two days before they gather to debate the
pact. It will contain provisions to give U.S. troops immunity from Afghan law
and allow them to enter Afghan homes in exceptional
circumstances.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has long objected to both
but the United States has said the provisions are crucial in order for its
forces to remain in the country beyond 2014.
Aimal Faizi, a Karzai
spokesman, said the agreement was partly owed to a promise by U.S. President
Barack Obama to write a letter to the Afghan people acknowledging mistakes made
during the 12-year war.
"Both sides agreed that Obama send a letter ...
assuring the president and the people of Afghanistan that the right to enter
into Afghan homes by U.S. forces and the extraordinary circumstances will not
be misused," Faizi told reporters.
Previously, Karzai had planned to
present the tribal elders with two versions of the pact, which would have
increased the chances of key U.S. demands being rejected and it pulling all
its troops out after 2014.
"The whole idea of having a letter was to
acknowledge the suffering of the Afghan people and the mistakes of the past.
That was the only thing that satisfied the president," Faizi added.
The
letter is to be presented along with the draft at the meeting of tribal elders
that is due to start on Thursday and un for several days.
If the council
votes in favour of the pact with the United States, it will still need the
approval of both houses of parliament and the president's signature before it
is ratified.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/us-afghanistan-security-pact_n_4303696.html?utm_hp_ref=afghanistan-war-blog)
KABUL, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The future role of U.S. troops in Afghanistan
after 2014, to be set down in a bilateral accord, will be put to an assembly of
some 3,000 tribal elders and other prominent people next month, organisers of
the meeting said on Saturday.
Organisers of the meeting, known as the
Loya Jirga, said it would take place around Nov. 19-21. President Hamid Karzai
last week said only the assembly had the authority to decide on the
agreement.
Most combat troops are to be withdrawn from the country next
year. The draft bilateralaccord contains provisions believed to be contentious
to Kabul. These include a U.S. demand to retain legal jurisdiction over its
troops who stay on in Afghanistan, which would give them immunity from Afghan
law.
(Reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Writing by Jessica Donati; Editing
by Ron Popeski)
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/19/afghan-assembly-decide-future-us-troops_n_4127099.html?utm_hp_ref=afghanistan-war-blog)
KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan wearing a security forces uniform turned his
weapon against U.S. troops Saturday, killing three in eastern Afghanistan,
officials said, in another apparent attack by a member of the Afghan forces
against their international allies.
The shooting took place in Gardez, capital of eastern Paktia province, Gen.
Mohammad Zahir Azimi, an Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, said. The area, near
the border with Pakistan, has been a front line in fighting with the Taliban and
other militants.
The attack took place inside a base of the Afghan army in the city, according
to a security official in Gardez, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he
was not authorized to give details while the incident was still under
investigation.
A U.S. Defense Department official confirmed that all three soldiers were
Americans, but that no further details would be released until after their
relatives had been notified. NATO said the shooting was carried out by a gunman
wearing the uniform of the Afghan National Security Forces, but it gave no
further details.
weapon against U.S. troops Saturday, killing three in eastern Afghanistan,
officials said, in another apparent attack by a member of the Afghan forces
against their international allies.
The shooting took place in Gardez, capital of eastern Paktia province, Gen.
Mohammad Zahir Azimi, an Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, said. The area, near
the border with Pakistan, has been a front line in fighting with the Taliban and
other militants.
The attack took place inside a base of the Afghan army in the city, according
to a security official in Gardez, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he
was not authorized to give details while the incident was still under
investigation.
A U.S. Defense Department official confirmed that all three soldiers were
Americans, but that no further details would be released until after their
relatives had been notified. NATO said the shooting was carried out by a gunman
wearing the uniform of the Afghan National Security Forces, but it gave no
further details.
Killings by uniformed Afghans of foreign soldiers and civilians rose
dramatically last year, eroding confidence between the sides at a crucial
turning point in the conflict. So-called insider attacks killed 62 personnel in
47 incidents last year compared to 35 killed in 21 attacks a year earlier,
according to NATO.
So far in 2013, 11
foreign soldiers have been killed in seven such attacks,
including
Saturday's, according to an Associated Press
count.
In some cases, militants have
donned Afghan army or police uniforms to attack
foreign troops, but a
number have been carried out by members of Afghan security
forces against
their own comrades.
The attacks come as
NATO and Afghan forces are in more intimate contact, with
foreign troops
handing over security to the Afghans and continuing to train them
prior to
an almost total withdrawal by the end of
2014.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/22/afghanistan-insider-attack_n_3971839.html)
dramatically last year, eroding confidence between the sides at a crucial
turning point in the conflict. So-called insider attacks killed 62 personnel in
47 incidents last year compared to 35 killed in 21 attacks a year earlier,
according to NATO.
So far in 2013, 11
foreign soldiers have been killed in seven such attacks,
including
Saturday's, according to an Associated Press
count.
In some cases, militants have
donned Afghan army or police uniforms to attack
foreign troops, but a
number have been carried out by members of Afghan security
forces against
their own comrades.
The attacks come as
NATO and Afghan forces are in more intimate contact, with
foreign troops
handing over security to the Afghans and continuing to train them
prior to
an almost total withdrawal by the end of
2014.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/22/afghanistan-insider-attack_n_3971839.html)