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Thursday, January 9, 2014

US Envoy: Karzai Unlikely to Meet New Deadline on Troop Deal

US Keeps Setting Ultimatums, But Afghans Stand Firm

by Jason Ditz, January 09, 2014

After missing the Obama Administration’s “ultimatum” to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) by the end of December, officials told the Karzai government they wanted it done within “weeks, not months.”

Now, US Ambassador James Cunningham is admitting that the Karzai government is “unlikely” to meet that deadline either, saying he thinks Karzai will stick to his initial pledge not to sign until after the April vote.

The BSA would govern the US occupation of Afghanistan “through 2024 and beyond,” and Karzai has repeatedly said he won’t sign the deal before the election, which ends his term in office.

Karzai had been pushing for the US to make pledges to end night raids and drone strikes, citing the growing civilian casualties, while the US demands the deal be signed exactly as written.

Though the Obama Administration has made it clear they want the BSA signed as soon as possible, it is unclear why they keep going public with ultimatums that they don’t believe Karzai will accept, and coupling them with threats to withdraw that they have no intention of following through on.

Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz

58 Senators Back Iran Sanctions, Threatening Diplomacy – January 9th, 2014

At Least 45 Rebels Killed in Ambush by Troops in Homs – January 9th, 2014

Rebel Car Bomb Kills 16 in Syrian Ismaili Village – January 9th, 2014

Three-Way Fight: Sunni Tribes Gain Ground Against Govt, al-Qaeda in Fallujah, Ramadi – January 9th, 2014

Khamenei: Nuclear Talks Revealed US Enmity Toward Iran – January 9th, 2014

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News From Antiwar.com

US Envoy: Karzai Unlikely to Meet New Deadline on Troop Deal

Monday, November 25, 2013

Pentagon urges Karzai to sign troop plan quickly

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” The Pentagon is urging Afghan President Hamid Karzai to quickly sign a long-delayed security agreement that would keep some U.S. troops in the country after most foreign forces draw down in 2014.

The Afghan leader is insisting that the winner of the country’s April 5 election be the one to sign the deal â€” despite a vote Sunday by an Afghan assembly to go ahead with the agreement.

Col. Steven Warren, a Defense Department spokesman, said Monday that it’s very difficult for the U.S. to plan troop movements if the deal is not sealed by year’s end.

Warren told reporters the Pentagon hopes he signs the agreement “as quickly as possible.”

Associated Press

Politics Headlines

Pentagon urges Karzai to sign troop plan quickly

Friday, October 18, 2013

Kerry Claims Afghan Troop Deal Will Be ‘Same Standard’ as Japan, Korea

US Status of Forces Deals Actually Vary Wildly from Nation to Nation

by Jason Ditz, October 17, 2013

The US is still in the process of trying to get a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) in place to keep US troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014. As negotiations with the Afghan government continue to stall, Secretary of State John Kerry spurned questions about troop immunity, insisting that troops always operate under the same standard, and Afghanistan should expect no different from Japan or Korea in that regard.

Kerry’s comments sought to defer Afghan requests to maintain jurisdiction over US troops in the event of certain war crimes, while the US has insisted the troops retain full immunity, and was an effort to kill the debate by arguing that the pact was just standard boilerplate.

The comments were also flat out untrue, as US status of forces agreements vary wildly across the world, with jurisdiction different in almost every single pact, and full immunity is the exception, not the rule.

Indeed, Kerry’s comments were doubly wrong because the deals with Japan and South Korea actually both grant them some jurisdiction over US troops, and both nations have tried US troops in their own courts, the exact same standard the Karzai government has sought, and which Kerry has rejected.