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| Afghanistan |
| Lawmakers Caution Building Ties to Tehran |
| 2013-12-10 |
| [Tolo News] A number of Afghan politicians on Monday spoke out against the recent announcement of a "Friendship & Cooperation Pact" to be signed between Kabul. The representatives were fearful that closer ties with Afghanistan's western neighbor could come at the expense of relations with the U.S. President Karzai left Kabul for Tehran earlier this week and held discussions with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani. The two leaders agreed on signing an agreement that would expand relations between the two nations for regional peace and stability and to further economic ties. The announcement comes at a time tensions between the Presidential Palace in Kabul and the White House in Washington are at an all time high, with the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) hanging in the balance. Lawmakers on Monday emphasized that given the ongoing threats to Afghanistan, especially with the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... combat mission ending in December of 2014, the country needs a powerful ally that could help meet the needs of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Police (ANP). The Kabul-Washington security pact was approved by a Loya Jirga a couple weeks ago, and entails the assurance of some 10,000 U.S. troops as part of a residual force to stay behind to train, advise and assist the Afghan forces post-2014 as well as some 4.1 billion USD in military aid. Despite recent negotiation overtures, Iran and the U.S. remain largely at odds, which is why Afghan officials fear getting closer to Tehran just as relations with Washington hit a rough patch is a dangerous game to play. |
| Posted by:Fred |