Disagreements between Afghan President Hamad Karzai and the US over how the war should be pursued burst into the open at a coalition summit November 20 -- 21. In a face-to-face confrontation photographed in Lisbon, Portugal by the Wall Street Journal, President Barack Obama rejected Afghan demands to curtail raids and airstrikes, telling Karzai that he must listen to American concerns.
In a speech to the closed-door NATO session, Karzai named "civilian casualties, detentions, lawless behavior by some security companies, and, at times, the NATO posture as issues of serious concern to the Afghan people."
After the talks, Obama said that he is sensitive to Afghan requests and appreciates Karzai is "eager to assert full sovereignty including control of security operations within his country. If we are ponying up billions of dollars, if the expectation is that our troops are going to be there to ensure that President Karzai can continue to build and develop his country, then he's got to also pay attention to our concerns."
President Obama acknowledged that the issue of Afghan civilian casualties has caused real tensions. Yet, Obama said, "He's got to understand that I've got a bunch of young men and women who are in a foreign country being shot at, having to traverse terrain filled with IED's, and they need to protect themselves. So, if we are setting things up where they are just sitting ducks for the Taliban, that's not an acceptable answer either."
Obama talks to Karzai as an occupier, setting its own rules, killing civilians when necessary, spending billions of dollars, suffering death and casualties to American soldiers, sullying the name of America while rescuing the un-willing, corrupt and complaining ally, fighting in another country’s civil war. Lest we forget, the Taliban did not attack us on September 11, 2001, but here we are ten years later, sitting ducks for the Taliban who are proud to be fighting against the invading foreigner 7,000 miles from home, the foreigner prepared to waste precious lives and resources until 2014 and perhaps beyond.
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2 comments:
It seems that nobody has ever been successful at invading Afghanistan.
Personally I think we should leave that country, but offer any non military help.
I agree with the following quote!
I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.
- George McGovern
mike Barret
We know how corrupt the Karzai Government is. We know his brother is a drug lord and works for the CIA, we have heard the same about Karzai.
We know the Taliban if not in the Government wants to be. We know Karzai wants an end to night raids, Why because we are killing so many Taliban and commanders?
Karzai was livid because Russia and the US mad a huge drug bust without telling or asking him first. Why because they were his, his family and friends and didn't get to warn them?
We should just get out, we did our job long ago and the only reason to stay now is to prop up an anwanted puppet regime until we join Afghanistan's graveyard of nations as we will unless we get out!
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