Karzai says US and NATO troops not needed in Afghanistan

By Ian Davis, NATO Watch

In his final address to the Afghan parliament on 15 March, President Karzai said the country did not need US or any other foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan once the NATO combat mission ends in December.  During an hour-long speech, Karzai said that the Afghan military already protects 93 percent of the country and is ready to take over completely. He also reiterated that he would not sign a bilateral security agreement (BSA) with the United States.

In contrast, Zahir Tanin, Afghanistan's UN ambassador, told the UN Security Council two days later that he was "certain" Kabul would soon sign a BSA, which would allow some US and alliance troops to remain in the country after the NATO combat mission ends. Tanin said the Afghan people had demonstrated at the Loya Jirga (grand council) in November 2013 that they "believe in the importance of continuing strategic relations with the United States, NATO and the wider international community".

President Karzai also said that the last 12 years of war had been "imposed" on Afghanistan, and suggested that the United States could deliver peace to the country if it pursued countries that support terrorism, an implied criticism of Pakistan where Afghan militants have often found a safe haven.
 
Karzai's remarks coincided with ongoing withdrawal preparations by the British army, which now has troops in just two bases, both in Helmand province. At the height of the deployment, more than 10,000 British soldiers controlled 137 bases across Afghanistan. Today, there are only 4,000 troops operating out of the British headquarters at Camp Bastion and an observation post called Sterga 2. Speaking about the British experience in Afghanistan, Brig. James Woodham, the commander of Task Force Helmand, said "history would judge" the success of the mission. He added that progress had been made in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand, which had been transformed from "a warzone" into somewhere which is now "primarily peaceful".
 
Meanwhile, Col. Jane E. Crichton, the director of public affairs for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), told Afghanistan's Pajhwok Afghan News on 19 March that the United States has spent around $53 billion funding the Afghan security forces. This revelation came a day after the Washington Post reported that Pakistan could receive up to $7 billion in US equipment currently in Afghanistan. Whether the Afghan army has the capability to use some of this advanced equipment remains an open question, made more pertinent by concerns that some of it may eventually fall into the hands of militants.