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Afghanistan Won't Concede to U.S. on BSA: Officials
[Tolo News] Fayeq Wahidi, Deputy front man of President 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... , on Saturday has said the U.S. pressure on the Afghan government would not impact its approach to the signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). The finalization of the BSA has been stalled since President Karzai said he would not sign the accord until after the April elections, and only if the U.S. met certain preconditions, despite a Loya Jirga recommending the pact be signed as soon as possible. Officials in Washington have said the agreement must be signed before the end of the year. Wahidi said the U.S. thinks that putting pressure on Afghanistan would force the government to sign the pact, but that this was a "miscalculation." He said that the Afghan government knows that the U.S. can meet Kabul's demands. "We believe that the security pact will have benefits, but the demands for the signing of it from President Karzai are legitimate," Wahidi said. "So it's good that the United State chooses cooperation but the artificial pressure will not have any impact." Karzai has said he will not sign the accord unless progress is seen in the Taliban grinding of the peace processor and U.S. raids on Afghan homes cease. U.S. officials have warned that if the BSA is not signed, no foreign troops would remain in Afghanistan after 2014 and some 4.1 billion USD in military aid funding would be frozen. "If the agreement is not signed, it could cause a capital flight from Afghanistan," economic expert Nazir Kaberi told TOLOnews. "The signing of the agreement will have more impact on Afghanistan's economy than other sections," MP Kamal Naser Osuli said. Posted by: Fred 2013-12-08 |
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