After One Day - Karzai Breaks Off Talks with US on Afghan Security

.
BREAKING NEWS – ALSO … Obama Riyadh’s puppet on Syria?

« click for Gulf News

Afghanistan suspends security pact talks with U.S. amid Taliban peace process

(Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai has decided to suspend talks on a security pact with the United States, accusing Washington of mixed messages regarding peace talks with the Taliban, his spokesman said on Wednesday.

“In a special meeting chaired by President Hamid Karzai, the president has decided to suspend talks about a security pact with the U.S. because of their inconsistent statements and actions in regard to the peace process,” spokesman Aimal Faizi told Reuters.

Negotiations on the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) began earlier this year and, if completed, will define the shape of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan for years to come.

In Iraq, a collapse in negotiations regarding a similar pact saw the U.S. pull all troops out of the country. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul said it was preparing a statement on the announcement.

Afghanistan suspends talks after US-Taliban move

This has happened before …

Afghanistan’s Taliban suspend peace talks with US

(BBC News) March 15, 2012 – The Taliban in Afghanistan have suspended preliminary peace negotiations with the United States. The group blamed the Americans’ “ever-changing position” and said US efforts to involve the Afghan authorities were a key stumbling block to further talks.

The Taliban regard the Kabul government as illegitimate.

President Karzai told visiting US defence secretary Leon Panetta that Afghan troops should take the lead for nationwide security in 2013.

‘Pointless’

In a statement, the Taliban said they had agreed to talks focusing on a political office being established in Qatar and on a prisoner exchange. They said they were suspending the talks because of “the shaky, erratic and vague standpoint of the Americans”.

US diplomatic sources say the Taliban were told by US negotiators that the Afghan government had to be a part of any negotiations. The Taliban statement reiterated that the group “considers talking with the Kabul administration as pointless.”

Other conditions reportedly set by the US in the talks include accepting of the Afghan constitution – which the Taliban have rejected – and publicly denouncing al-Qaeda.

Riyadh believes it’s duty bound to act on Syria

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Gulf News) – King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia cut short his holiday in Morocco and returned to Jeddah a few days ago “due to the repercussions of the events that are currently taking place in the region”, the state news agency SPA reported.

The decision was made after Washington altered its long-standing position not to provide military support to the Syrian Free Army. On Thursday, the United States announced a major shift in policy towards the Syrian crisis, though no details were available as to what kind of military aid would be sent.

For its part, Riyadh stepped up both its diplomatic efforts to persuade leading Western powers to change their positions following the fall of Qusayr, and pledged to transfer sorely needed surface-to-air and anti-tank missiles to assist rebel forces before an anticipated assault by President Bashar Al Assad’s forces — backed by Hezbollah and Iranian troops — on Aleppo.

Parallel to these developments, and as expected, a clash of wills between Western countries and Russia occurred at the Northern Ireland G8 conference, where Syria topped the agenda, especially after Moscow criticised Washington’s announcement that the US would arm opposition fighters.

See also yesterday’s diary – Qatar Will Host Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) Peace Talks.

4 Comments

Oui on June 20, 2013 at 9:39 am

.
Karzai fears Pakistan influence in Taliban delegation at Qatar ~~embassy~~ office. Wants to have peace negotiations directly without the US inside Afghanistan. Previous peace delegates have been assassinated on two previous occasions. The Taliban delegations does not want to have talks with Karzai as he lacks authority and is seen as a US puppet with no legitimacy. Difficulty is who will represent the Pashtun tribe: Karzai who had been installed by US occupying forces, paid by the CIA, or the Taliban who have their HQ located in Kandahar. Of course, how many of the Taliban are now living and fighting in the AfPak region, primarily hiding out in the Pakistan Northern Tribal Territory no one knows. The Haqqani terror network (Video) is another group that has to be reckoned with, they have mounted most deadly (suicide) atacks on the capital Kabul.

Afghanistan peace talks: US-Taliban meeting in Qatar cancelled

(The Guardian) – A fresh effort to end Afghanistan’s 12-year-old war looked in disarray on Thursday after a diplomatic row about the Taliban’s new Qatar office delayed preliminary discussions between the US and the Islamist insurgents.

Talks between US officials and Taliban representatives had been set for Thursday in the Gulf state but Afghan government anger at the opening of a Taliban office there threw preparations into confusion.

The opening of the office was a practical step paving the way for peace talks. But the official-looking protocol surrounding the event raised angry protests in Kabul that the office would develop into a Taliban government-in-exile: a diplomatic scramble ensued to allay their concerns.

« click for story

Repeated phone calls by John Kerry, the US secretary of state, appeared not to have mollified Karzai, who accused the Obama administration of duplicity. Irritated by a press conference in Qatar at which the Taliban attempted to portray themselves as a government in exile, Karzai suspended talks on a long-term security deal to keep US troops in Afghanistan after Nato leaves in 2014.

News on Tuesday that American diplomats would sit down with Taliban leaders – the first direct talks since the US helped oust the group from power in 2001 – prompted speculation that real progress towards a negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan might be in sight.

But while the Taliban hinted at meeting US demands of a break with al-Qaida – saying Afghan soil should not be used to harm other countries – there was only the barest of nods to Kabul’s request that they talk to the current administration and respect Afghanistan’s constitution. The group infuriated Karzai by displaying a white Taliban flag and repeatedly referring to the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan“, the name the group used when they ruled from Kabul.

The US had pledged the Taliban would only be able to use the Doha as base for talks, not as a political platform, and Karzai felt the Tuesday press conference was a clear violation of that promise, an official Afghan source told the Guardian.

Marie2 on June 20, 2013 at 4:32 pm

Looks like Karzai pulled one out of the Obama manual — where’s Obama going to go if not Karzai? Although Karzai might want to take note that Democrat/liberal voters in the US cower more easily than US geo-politcal power that isn’t adverse to ditching a recalcitrant friend/puppet in favor of a murky and dark different path.

So much for the “good war.”

Oui on June 20, 2013 at 4:39 pm

.
To get the whole background story, see my new diary – Endgame: Afghanistan A Playground of Empires.
About ditching a CIA paid puppet leader who needs to heed the warning signs to save his skin. Think of Saigon 1975.
- Marie2 on June 20, 2013 at 5:09 pm
  
  Not the first and won’t be the last. Hell, Assad (and even Gaddafi) were cooperative and useful to US interests until recently.

Oui on June 20, 2013 at 9:39 am

.
Karzai fears Pakistan influence in Taliban delegation at Qatar ~~embassy~~ office. Wants to have peace negotiations directly without the US inside Afghanistan. Previous peace delegates have been assassinated on two previous occasions. The Taliban delegations does not want to have talks with Karzai as he lacks authority and is seen as a US puppet with no legitimacy. Difficulty is who will represent the Pashtun tribe: Karzai who had been installed by US occupying forces, paid by the CIA, or the Taliban who have their HQ located in Kandahar. Of course, how many of the Taliban are now living and fighting in the AfPak region, primarily hiding out in the Pakistan Northern Tribal Territory no one knows. The Haqqani terror network (Video) is another group that has to be reckoned with, they have mounted most deadly (suicide) atacks on the capital Kabul.

Afghanistan peace talks: US-Taliban meeting in Qatar cancelled

(The Guardian) – A fresh effort to end Afghanistan’s 12-year-old war looked in disarray on Thursday after a diplomatic row about the Taliban’s new Qatar office delayed preliminary discussions between the US and the Islamist insurgents.

Talks between US officials and Taliban representatives had been set for Thursday in the Gulf state but Afghan government anger at the opening of a Taliban office there threw preparations into confusion.

The opening of the office was a practical step paving the way for peace talks. But the official-looking protocol surrounding the event raised angry protests in Kabul that the office would develop into a Taliban government-in-exile: a diplomatic scramble ensued to allay their concerns.

« click for story

Repeated phone calls by John Kerry, the US secretary of state, appeared not to have mollified Karzai, who accused the Obama administration of duplicity. Irritated by a press conference in Qatar at which the Taliban attempted to portray themselves as a government in exile, Karzai suspended talks on a long-term security deal to keep US troops in Afghanistan after Nato leaves in 2014.

News on Tuesday that American diplomats would sit down with Taliban leaders – the first direct talks since the US helped oust the group from power in 2001 – prompted speculation that real progress towards a negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan might be in sight.

But while the Taliban hinted at meeting US demands of a break with al-Qaida – saying Afghan soil should not be used to harm other countries – there was only the barest of nods to Kabul’s request that they talk to the current administration and respect Afghanistan’s constitution. The group infuriated Karzai by displaying a white Taliban flag and repeatedly referring to the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan“, the name the group used when they ruled from Kabul.

The US had pledged the Taliban would only be able to use the Doha as base for talks, not as a political platform, and Karzai felt the Tuesday press conference was a clear violation of that promise, an official Afghan source told the Guardian.
Marie2 on June 20, 2013 at 4:32 pm

Looks like Karzai pulled one out of the Obama manual — where’s Obama going to go if not Karzai? Although Karzai might want to take note that Democrat/liberal voters in the US cower more easily than US geo-politcal power that isn’t adverse to ditching a recalcitrant friend/puppet in favor of a murky and dark different path.

So much for the “good war.”
- Oui on June 20, 2013 at 4:39 pm
  
  .
  To get the whole background story, see my new diary – Endgame: Afghanistan A Playground of Empires.
  About ditching a CIA paid puppet leader who needs to heed the warning signs to save his skin. Think of Saigon 1975.
  - Marie2 on June 20, 2013 at 5:09 pm
    
    Not the first and won’t be the last. Hell, Assad (and even Gaddafi) were cooperative and useful to US interests until recently.

After One Day – Karzai Breaks Off Talks with US on Afghan Security

About The Author

Oui

4 Comments

Recent Posts

Recent Comments