Karzai: Foreign Troops Out Of Afghanistan In Five Years

Times Online:

President Hamid Karzai today signalled the beginning of the end of foreign military intervention in his country, when he pledged that Afghan security forces would take the lead in combating the Taleban over the next three to five years.

In a much-anticipated inauguration speech, the Afghan leader told dozens of visiting foreign dignitaries what they wanted to hear. In particular he pledged to crack down on rampant corruption in his Government, to press for a reconciliation with the Taleban by holding a loya jirga (grand assembly) and for the Afghan army and police to take responsibility for the country’s security.

His remarks received a warm applause from Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, and other representatives of Western governments whose troops are serving in Afghanistan and whose aid budgets keep the Government afloat.

“He addressed all the issues we wanted, particularly on security and corruption” one foreign envoy attending the event told The Times. “The test will now be his ability to follow up his promises. But he has made a public commitment to his people that he will be held to.”

Wearing his trademark green chapan (coat) and grey astrakhan hat, Mr Karzai said: “Within the next three years, Afghanistan, with continued international support and in line with the growth of its defence capacity, wants to lead and conduct military operations in the many insecure areas of the country.

“We are determined that by the next five years, the Afghan forces are capable of taking the lead in ensuring security and stability across the country,” he said.

His comments are likely to influence President Obama’s decision on whether or not to send thousands more troops to the country, as his commander, General Stanley McChrystal, has requested. A surge of troops to speed up the training of Afghan forces with the aim of handing over responsibility for security now seems more likely.

In conjunction with his aim to build up the Afghan security forces, Mr Karzai also pledged to try and make peace with the Taleban, whose insurgency has spread steadily across the country over the past three years.

“We invite dissatisfied compatriots who are not directly linked to international terrorism to return to the their homeland,” he said with clear reference to Taleban figures mainly residing in neighbouring Pakistan. “We will call Afghanistan’s traditional loya jirga [grand assembly] and make every possible effort to ensure peace in our country.”

Mr Karzai also tackled the hugely sensitive question of corruption in Afghanistan, which many suspect stretches to within his own family. He blamed the “foreign media” for reporting on corruption, which he said had given Afghanistan “a very bad reputation”.

He vowed to stamp out “the culture of impunity” by making officials at all levels accountable. He pledged that in future ministers, governors and other senior officials would have to declare their “moveable and unmovable assets”.

Mr Karzai looked and sounded convincing. But the fact that his security forces had to close down Kabul in order to let him hold the ceremony in safety said a lot about the current state of affairs in his country. The peaceful, stable, well-run Afghanistan he described is still a long way off.