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Hamid Karzai Accuses U.S. & Taliban of Working Together to ‘Frighten’ Afghans Into Letting Troops Stay

Mar. 10, 2013 2:07pm Madeleine Morgenstern

Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a nationally televised speech about the state of Afghan women in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, March, 10, 2013. Karzai on Sunday accused the Taliban and the U.S. of working in concert to convince Afghans that violence will worsen if most foreign troops leave as planned by the end of next year. Karzai says two deadly suicide bombings on Saturday show the insurgent group is conducting attacks to help show that international forces will still be needed to keep the peace after their current combat mission ends in 2014. (AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday accused the Taliban and the U.S. of working in concert to convince Afghans that violence will worsen if most foreign troops leave – an allegation the top American commander in Afghanistan rejected as “categorically false.”

Karzai said two suicide bombings that killed 19 people on Saturday – one outside the Afghan Defense Ministry and the other near a police checkpoint in eastern Khost province – show the insurgent group is conducting attacks to demonstrate that international forces will still be needed to keep the peace after their current combat mission ends in 2014.

“The explosions in Kabul and Khost yesterday showed that they are at the service of America and at the service of this phrase: 2014. They are trying to frighten us into thinking that if the foreigners are not in Afghanistan, we would be facing these sorts of incidents,” he said during a nationally televised speech about the state of Afghan women.

Karzai is known for making incendiary comments in his public speeches, a tactic that is often attributed to him trying to appeal to Taliban sympathizers or to gain leverage when he feels his international allies are ignoring his country’s sovereignty. In previous speeches, he has threatened to join the Taliban and called his NATO allies occupiers who want to plunder Afghanistan’s resources.

U.S. and NATO forces commander Gen. Joseph Dunford said Karzai had never expressed such views to him, but said it was understandable that tensions would arise as the coalition balances the need to complete its mission and the Afghans’ move to exercise more sovereignty.

“We have fought too hard over the past 12 years, we have shed too much blood over the last 12 years, to ever think that violence or instability would be to our advantage,” Dunford said.

The Karzai government’s latest comments and actions come during U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s first visit to Afghanistan since becoming the Pentagon chief, a trip made in part to meet with Karzai. Hours after Karzai’s speech, their joint news conference was canceled by officials citing security concerns, though officials said the two men still planned to meet privately.

The two men had plenty of contentious issues to discuss. The Afghan and U.S. government are negotiating a security pact for the long-term presence of American forces in Afghanistan – the difficulty illustrated when a deal to transfer a U.S. prison outside of Kabul to Afghan authority on Saturday fell through at the last moment.

U.S. and Afghan officials are also at odds over a Karzai demand that U.S. special operations forces withdraw from a province neighboring Kabul by Monday over allegations they participated in torture and extrajudicial killing – charges U.S. officials deny. As the deadline approached, Dunford told reporters he spoke to Karzai about the issue on Saturday and told him the U.S. is working on a plan to hand over security in the Wardak region to Afghan forces. He would not directly say whether the commandos will stay in Wardak when the deadline to leave comes on Monday.

Karzai raised another difficult issue when he denounced the alleged seizure of a university student Saturday by Afghan forces his aide said were working for the CIA. It was unclear why the student was detained.

Presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said in an interview with The Associated Press that the CIA freed the student after Karzai’s staff intervened, but that Karzai wants the alleged Afghan raiders arrested. The president issued a decree on Sunday banning all international forces and the Afghans working with them from entering universities and schools without Afghan government permission.

The CIA declined to comment. NATO spokesman Lt. Col. Les Carroll said that no NATO forces “harassed a university student” as described by the President’s office.

In the incident at the Kandahar university Saturday, presidential spokesman Faizi said the raiders fired shots as they grabbed student Abdul Qayoum, and blindfolded him before taking him for interrogation at a CIA post that Taliban leader Mullah Omar once used as a home.

The CIA has trained an Afghan counterterrorist force several thousand strong, known as the Counterterrorism Pursuit Team, which works mostly in insurgent strongholds in southern and eastern Afghanistan. U.S. officials say they work in concert with the Afghan intelligence service, but Karzai frequently complains he lacks oversight over their operations.

Karzai said in his speech that any foreign powers that want to keep troops in Afghanistan need to do so under conditions set forward by Afghanistan.

“We will tell them where we need them, and under which conditions. They must respect our laws. They must respect the national sovereignty of our country and must respect all our customs,” Karzai said.

Karzai offered no proof of coordination, but said the Taliban and the United States were in “daily negotiations” in various foreign countries and noted that the United States has said that it no longer considers the insurgent group its enemy. The U.S. continues to fight against the Taliban and other militant groups, but has expressed its backing for formal peace talks with the Taliban to find a political resolution to the war.

Karzai said he did not believe the Taliban’s claim that they launched Saturday’s attacks to show they are still a potent force fighting the United States. “Yesterday’s explosions, which the Taliban claimed, show that in reality they are saying they want the presence of foreigners in Afghanistan,” Karzai said.

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Comments (62)

ASE
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 5:58pm
I think we should get the hell out of there. If they can’t defend themselves, maybe they should make peace (if that is even possible) with the taliban. The karzai regime has never really been our friend. Seems more friendly to the chinese. If they want to stay in power, let the chinese defend them.

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- johnpaulkuchtajr
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 6:59pm
  Wow!
  
  I just can’t believe that a world leader feels like he’s being dealt from the bottom of the deck by our Sewer Rat-in-Chief!
  
  Why shouldn’t old Hamid feel that he can trust a guy who gave the go-ahead for Fast and Furious and Benghazi?
  
  Bets the hell out of me!
  
  “Remember Benghazi and ALL the Traitors!
  
  Report this comment
- Jim S
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 7:13pm
  ..If memory serves right..we have worked quite a bit with the Taliban during Reagan’s admin vs the USSR…
  http://www.bt.com.bn/analysis/2008/12/17/story_of_us_cia_and_taliban
  ..you do know Hamid Karzai has NEVER been in charge …just another purchased puppet who’s worried whats happens when we leave…over throwing govts…sorry regime change..is tricky.
  
  Report this comment
- random357
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 9:33pm
  I think this highly possible with this administration. Ihope it stays over sea’s.
  
  Report this comment
- mikem1969
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:46pm
  There is no doubt in my mind that the US working with terrorists. They have done it many times before. You see, the BIGGER PICTURE IS THIS, in order to keep a STANDING FEDERAL ARMY, they US has to be in WARLIKE SITUATIONS. Now, war is big business for all involved and that will never change. This is one way the US government is still able to keep us taxed, because correct me if I am wrong, the only time they are able to tax the US citizen is when they have a standing army. Are you awake yet?
  
  RESIST TYRANNY LOUDLY.
  
  Report this comment
- ZeppelinB9
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 8:55pm
  I’m with you on this one. Even better, on our way out, any equipment and structures we leave behind…sabotage/wreck it. (With all the money that has been thrown this guys way, they can buy their own tanks, APC’s etc.)
  
  Report this comment
Arshloch
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 4:29pm
We put his bum in power, he has lived off the US for years, he whines worse than algore and still wants more money, bullcrap. We need to stop the funding, stop his ‘protection’, give him to the Taliban and find a more greatful bum to replace him.

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- Stoic one
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 5:25pm
  Yea, let China give him money instead. They are just as broke as the US.
  
  Report this comment
- Jim S
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 7:27pm
  ..no no no..”freely elected”..remember nation building ?..introduce US democratic values into a 3rd world hellhole and miracles happen..like US troops guarding the president’s brother’s poppy fields..hate Barry all you want, Bush’s plan to get involved as much as we have..we invaded 2 nations who didn’t attack the US on 9/11..not counting Syria and Libya…why is Iran so paranoid of the US ?…must be them…there were a handful of terrorists now we are hated by millions…mission accomplished… and Barry is either as stupid as Bush or dumber…pack our crap and come home…stop this decade old war ..we have no idea what we are doing or why we are doing it..spending $300million @day in Afghanistan ..what budget crisis ?
  
  Report this comment
Grand design
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 4:27pm
Karzai will need to have a couple of cars standing by for him when the American troops leave, one for him and his family and the other for the money he has acquired during his time in power!

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- Max jones
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 5:02pm
  Hamid Karzai….is probably right…our government is using the same sort of tactics on our own people.
  
  Report this comment
zoro51
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 4:26pm
excuse me ********** MURDERING MUSLUM.. YOU have NO grip on your own nation to END the crap YOU ALLOW IT TO CONTINUE then BASH the usa GO TO HELL N ROT… YOU are NOT worthy of ANY us protection nor aid..

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- Max jones
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 5:46pm
  Bah Rahk’s America can’t stand for anything good…… there is none there. I am ashamed of him. Get the scab out of office and heal the nation.
  
  Report this comment
welovetheUSA
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 4:13pm
Time for his guy to go…..it over..les get out of this hell hole and leave these fools to kill each other off…

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 4:20pm
  Within a few days of the departure of our troops this clown will be seen hanging from a city lamp post. The Taliban and al Qaeda will be running everything again. He’ll get what he deserves.
  
  Report this comment
jackact
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 4:08pm
A heroin dealing anti-Semitic anti-American pedophile with a billion dollar check of your money in his sweaty palm.
Nice, huh?

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IamWhatIam
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:58pm
I think Karzai keeps forgetting – Afghanistan is not sovereign – we are occupying it!! But I do think we should have ALL our troops leave. I don’t think Karzais will mouth off much after that as he will not survive long. Oh, and we need to leave a reminder note – even “think” about misbehaving to the USA again and as Arnold said “I’ll be back”.

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PIGSWILLNEVERFLY
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:51pm
10-16-2012 – In May 2012, 0 and Karzai signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement that promised an ongoing U.S. Commitment to Afghanistan through………2024. Some say as many as 25,000 U.S. Troops. I REMEMBER when this was announced! All people involved in this mess speak out of their mouth which ever way the wind blows..or the money…or the power…or the press. It’s a political nightmare for our troops safety. WHAT ARE THEY FIGHTING OR NATION BUILDING FOR? Our rights are being eroded HERE and NOW. They are no longer protecting America. They are nation building for NATO and the UN and the IMF and World Bank. Bring them HOME.

Just google or bing: U.S. Afghan agreement to keep troops past 2014 – many, many links on this.

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Conservative Humanist
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:43pm
We can stay a year or ten years, it will not matter. within a few months of our departure, the Taliban will be back in control. We are wasting time and lives over there. There is no such thing as “winning the hearts and minds” when you are talking about the Islamic mind – or lack therof. they hate us, they want Islam to be the only religion in the world, they want all infidels either dead or converted, there is no in between. When will our politicians catch on?

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AUsername
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:41pm
Karzai is making sense of a likely possibility. There is allot of lithium, valuable mining resources, opium and other useful products for donors to get benefit from. USA before did create Al Qaeda by arming the Muhajadeen so they still could be working together.

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Witness1974
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:29pm
Time to get out and let Karsai deal with the Taliban. I will no longer support any U.S. military action that is anything but kill and destroy. “Changing hearts and minds” with building programs is foolishness and costs American lives needlessly. We can change hearts and minds the same way we changed German and Japanese hearts and minds. Over ten years of this war on terror and we still do not understand our enemies. I blame both Republicans and Democrats for this debacle. The Bush administration never did communicate the reasons for this war properly and he soft-peddled Islam. That alone has weakened this nation beyond calculation. There should have been video of the towers coming down on every channel every day until now.

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- The_Jerk
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:41pm
  Kick ass. Take names. Stop rebuilding. Get out.
  
  Report this comment
- chips1
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 4:35pm
  Obama is spending military lives as though he can just print more. I’m telling you that those scars on his head are from removing malignant brain sections.
  
  Report this comment
Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:24pm
How is al quada OR the taliban in existence anywhere today? When Bush left office they were relegated to the caves. They dared not peep out. NOW? They surround the entirety of North Africa, Eurasia, probably Europe, and the middle East surrounding Israel, AND Inside Iraq and Afghanistan.
SO? How did this happen? Not by accident. That much you can be sure!

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- The_Jerk
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:29pm
  You answered your own question.
  
  Report this comment
- Keatonc333
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 4:04pm
  They were relegated to the caves? I think your memory betrays you.. they were still strong in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, lebanon, ect ect. In fact, despite our war efforts, actually because of them, the Taliban numbers have been growing steadily since 2004.
  
  Report this comment
- No_More_War_Please
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 1:57am
  Al Qaeda spread to Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Lybia, and other places. This happened under the Bush adminstration as well as Obama. Killing 17,000 civilians in Afghanistan and 100,000 in Iraq leaving 500,000 orphans and widows did not help our cause. We’ve created and endless reserve of potential Al Qaeda recruits.
  
  Report this comment
13th Imam
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:22pm
Who does this remind me of?

Remember Osama Bin Laden? He was our ally until he wasn’t our ally. I Slam says you can lie to any nonbeliever.

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- The_Jerk
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:29pm
  So does the Talmud.
  
  Report this comment
fedlibertarian
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:20pm
There is no terrorism. The sooner our over-medicated obese reality-tv-braindead zombie nation wakes up to the fact that we are funding both sides of the ‘war on horror’ the sooner we can abolish the banker oligarchy that runs this planet by enslaving humanity under un-repayable debt AND print our own money without paying the Fed to do so. Perpetual war is so kind to the pockets of our masters. Pipe dreams I know… But the light will one day shine.

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- Keatonc333
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:22pm
  Amen!
  
  Report this comment
streetrodder
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:16pm
Idiot.

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- The_Jerk
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:23pm
  Get out of Afghanistan. If they act up again, nuke’em… and don’t go back to fix them.
  
  Report this comment
spirited
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:15pm
What are the number of troops in a patrol there?
Heard that, for some time, has been severely reduced, and as a result, are more vulnerable –basically defenseless; resulting in frequent deaths of American soldiers that go unported.

What’s the point of our people being sitting ducks?

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CulperGang
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:44pm
Karzai keeps speaking the truth the “boys” at the bank are going to have him whacked, with their tin solider of “yasa masta guys”…………who keep forgetting they are going to have hell to pay.
A tribute to the “boys”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkyfkqClECU

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- Keatonc333
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:21pm
  Speaking the truth? hahaha! what would the taliban stand to gain from keeping US troops in afghanistan? Karzai just wants control of Afghanistan.. and not be parented by the US
  
  Report this comment
- fedlibertarian
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:22pm
  Bingo
  
  Report this comment
spfoam1
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:40pm
We all know Obama would never use islamic jihadists as a tool to get what he wants. If you don’t believe me, just ask our Ambassador in Libya.

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- Totally Domestic
  Posted on March 11, 2013 at 12:01am
  Gotta make the people hurt……sound familiar….sequester strategy.
  
  Report this comment
ChiRho4Life
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:36pm
If the US troops pull out, karzai will have a typical muslim response – on the one hand, he will say to his people,”Look, I have driven the US from our lands!”…and to the US, he will say “How can you leave us here alone at the hands of the taliban??..pleeeeease don’t go!”…a page right out of yasser arafat’s terrorist handbook

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chips1
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:36pm
I strongly object to his use of the names U.S. and Taliban in the same threat. Use Obama instead. If Karazi thinks that he represents Americans, then he is stupider than I thought.

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- Tigress1
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:43pm
  Very true. Please change my word “We” in my last post to “Obama” and accept my apology.
  
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- chips1
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:49pm
  I never require an appology. I make more mistakes than most and I just correct them the next time. Appologize? Never!!! That would be a compromise.
  
  Report this comment
- Tigress1
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:00pm
  Chips1, very true again. I’m sorry for my apology. Oops! Maybe not! :)
  
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SpankDaMonkey
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:32pm
.
We should have had KTA policy. If we had we would be in a much better place…..

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Tigress1
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:31pm
Well, Karzai actually does have a point. We have been awfully cozy with the Taliban lately! When Obama says that he wants the Taliban at the negotiating table have we lost our old policy of “not negotiating with terrorists”?

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- VetMike
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:06pm
  Not “we” but his Imperial Majesty. I hate Jihdists to the depth of soul. Anyone who defends them defends execution for “blasphemy”, mutilation of and virtual slavery for women’ executing or lashing teenaged girls for “fornication” and “honor” killings. If moderate Muslims don’t speak out against this barbary then they are equally culpabe.
  
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- Tigress1
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 3:40pm
  Agreed. Also, why are we trying Osama Bin Laden’s son-in-law in a CIVILIAN court in New York City??? Obama backed down when everyone was outraged about Khalid Sheikh Mohammad being tried in a civilian court there, but nobody is saying a peep about this guy??? Frankly, I’m surprised The Blaze hasn’t had an article about it. If we allow this trial to take place, emptying Guantanamo Bay will follow. It’s a test.
  
  http://rt.com/usa/bin-ladens-kin-tried-nyc-983/
  
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Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:29pm
He just knows that as soon as we pull out, he is toast. His own people hate him, he is corrupt and runs a ruthless govt. His enemies are licking their chops waiting until he doesn’t have the US Military around to protect him. It’s sad we have spent over 10 years there, and as soon as we leave, they will go back to the way they were for over a thousand years……but then again, it’s like asking a leopard to change his spots, aint gonna happen.

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Lloyd Drako
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:15pm
Maybe we should do a deal with the Taliban. At least we would know where we stand, which is better than the relationship we have with this weasel.

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- OldSurfRat
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:23pm
  LLOD
  
  On this one we agree.
  
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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on March 10, 2013 at 4:30pm
  Actually, I agree with that too. The moment we pull out Karzai will meet his maker and the Taliban will be running everything anyway.
  
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OlefromMN
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 2:13pm
Hey Hamid, there has been no discussion of our troops hanging out there, here in the states. Be assured that Barry will pull them boys/girls out on schedule so that he may use them as a political trophy. My guess is it will coincide with the 2014 mid-terms when the last ones come home.

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