Afghanistan

[Lamplighter]

Here is an accounting of the recent diplomates' meeting regarding the US proposal
for 10,000 US military personnel to stay in Afghanistan for another 10 years... (heavily edited by me)

NY Times
ROD NORDLAND
November 25, 2013

Obama’s Visiting Security Adviser Tells Karzai to Sign Agreement

KABUL, Afghanistan — President Obama’s national security adviser, Susan E. Rice,
told President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan on Monday to stop his delay in signing
a security agreement or potentially face the complete and final pullout of American troops
by the end of 2014, according to American and Afghan officials.

But while Mr. Karzai was said to have assured her he would sign the deal at some point,
he gave no time frame for it. And he insisted on difficult new conditions as well,
including the release of all inmates at the American prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba,
adding to the perception of crisis between the two nations, officials from both countries said.<snip>

American ambassador, James B. Cunningham <snip> voiced objection
to an extra demand by the loya jirga: the release of all Guantánamo inmates.
He insisted that United States law governs the release of the prisoners and
that the issue had no bearing on the bilateral security agreement, or B.S.A. [Bilateral Security Agreement]

“That made the president very angry; his reaction was very strong and intense,” Mr. Faizi said.
“The president said we cannot separate the recommendations of the loya jirga from the B.S.A. now
— we cannot pick and choose. All those recommendations have to be taken seriously.”<snip>

Mr. Karzai’s strongest language was again said to be over American counterterrorism raids on private Afghan homes
<snip> Such raids are the main combat activity remaining to American forces in Afghanistan now,
and have been identified by American commanders as a crucial, continuing mission.<snip>

The only point of agreement from the talks, according to Mr. Faizi’s account,
was on another demand that Mr. Karzai made during the security negotiations: transparency in elections.
Mr. Karzai was referring to what he has called American interference in the 2009 presidential vote,
when pressure by American officials in response to allegations of election irregularities
led Mr. Karzai to agree to a second round of elections.