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Karzai orders US special forces out of Afghan province
 [BBC.CO.UK] The Afghan president has ordered US special forces to leave Wardak province within two weeks over allegations of disappearances and torture.The measures were being taken due to the actions of Afghans considered to be part of US special forces, said a front man for Hamid Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai. ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtunface on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... The strategically significant, central province of Wardak has been the recent focus of counter-insurgency operations. A US front man said it took all allegations of misconduct seriously. But he said he could not comment specifically on this latest development. In a hastily convened news conference, the presidential front man said US special forces would have to leave Wardak within the next two weeks. "There are some individuals, some Afghans, who are working within these cells, within these [US] special forces groups" in Wardak province, said front man Aimal Faizi. "But they are part of US special forces according to our sources and according to our local officials working in the province," he said. These Afghan units are facing allegations of involvement torture and disappearances, says the BBC's Karen Allen in Kabul. A preliminary investigation also blamed them for beheading a university student in the province. Wardak is seen as a gateway for the Taliban to target Kabul, our correspondent adds. Posted by: Fred 2013-02-24 |
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