Afghan endgame: Taliban vow war if US forces stay post 2014

Obama and Karzai will hold talks in US next week on a long-term security pact between the two countries.

ISLAMABAD: The Afghan Taliban warned on Saturday of a prolonged war in Afghanistan if any foreign troops stay after the end of 2014, as Kabul and Washington prepare to discuss the "residual" US security presence.

US President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will hold talks in the US next week on a long-term security pact between the two countries, with US troops remaining in Afghanistan at the top of the agenda.

"If America wants to leave a small or large number of its troops for whatever length of time then it means war and destruction will continue in the region for that same length," the Taliban said in a statement.

"If Karzai and the Kabul regime agree with the presence of even a single American soldier then, just as presently, they shall also be responsible for all future hostilities, casualties and destruction."

Afghan state television has reported that Karzai will also discuss military, economic and trade issues in talks with Obama.

“The American government and Karzai should understand that the agreement on troop presence is only a personal deal between Karzai and America which is categorically rejected by our nation and it shall hold no legal credibility,” the statement said, adding that turmoil and anarchy in the region is directly related to American presence in Afghanistan.

Afghan army training

Afghan defence ministry spokesman Gen Zaher Azimi described the president's visit as an extremely significant one. He said Karzai would discuss the provision of equipment and training for the Afghan army to ensure that it can independently defend and protect the country, according to Afghan state TV reports.

Meanwhile, Afghan defence analysts also opposed permanent US forces in Afghanistan, saying the US should focus on the training of Afghan soldiers and providing them with required supplies.

“The Americans must not seek permanent bases in Afghanistan but continue their support only to the Afghan security forces and the government institutions,” former Afghan defence minister Shahnawaz Tanai told The Express Tribune.

Tanai said the US should desist from interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs as any such policy will be against the sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan.

Left behind force to tackle al Qaeda

The latest media reports suggest the US Department of Defence has prepared plans that leave either 3,000, 6,000 or 9,000 troops in the country, focused on striking at al Qaeda militants.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said the slimmed-down force would focus on preventing al Qaeda, which was sheltered by the 1996-2001 Taliban government, from regaining a foothold in the war-shattered nation.

Troops would also continue training the Afghan army and police, who will be responsible for national security more than a decade after a US-led alliance ousted the Taliban regime.

General John Allen, commander of US and Nato forces, had earlier suggested leaving up to 15,000 troops, and the new forecasts would mean scrapping a plan for diplomatic posts across Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal said.

Fewer soldiers would also heighten US reliance on drones to monitor and target militants after most manned aircraft and their pilots pull out, the paper added.

The Nato coalition, which has been fighting an insurgency by Taliban Islamists since 2001, reduced troop numbers by about 30,000 in 2012 and is due to end its mission by the end of 2014.

The 100,000 international forces still in Afghanistan are mentoring the army and police to gradually take over all security duties, while the Afghan government has appointed negotiators to open peace talks with the Taliban. AFP

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2013.