Who is He Kidding?

Karzai is confident that Afghan security forces know "a thousand times
better than any foreign troops the culturally sensitive ways of
dealing with their own people," Mosazai said.

If the NATO troops did pullback, it would leave vast areas of the
country unprotected and essentially mean the end of the strategy of
trying to win hearts and minds by working with and protecting the
local populations.

The American accused of killing 16 civilians on Sunday was stationed
on just such a base, where a small group of soldiers worked with
villagers to try to set up local defense forces and strengthen
government.

Leaving rural areas would also mean pulling back U.S. forces from the
border areas with Pakistan.

Karzai told Panetta that the weekend shootings in southern Afghanistan
were cruel and that everything must be done to prevent any such
incidents in the future. He said that was the reason he was demanding
the pullout from rural areas now and early transfer of security.

President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron said
in Washington on Wednesday that they and their NATO allies were
committed to shifting to a support role in Afghanistan in 2013.

Obama gave his fullest endorsement yet for the mission shift, but he
said the overall plan to gradually withdraw forces and hand over
security in Afghanistan will stand.

The call for an immediate exit from rural areas is a new demand
however, and it is unclear how it will affect the transition strategy
and ongoing talks with the U.S. about how to manage a long-term U.S.
military presence in the country.

Karzai is known for making dramatic demands then backing off under
U.S. pressure. Even if he eventually changes his tone, the call for a
pullback will likely become another issue of contention between the
Afghans and their international allies at a time of growing war
weariness in the United States and other countries of the
international coalition.

The Taliban said it was suspending talks with the U.S. because the
Americans failed to follow through on their promises, made new demands
and falsely claimed the militant group had entered into multilateral
negotiations.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that they had
agreed to discuss two issues with the Americans: the establishment of
the militant group's political office in Qatar and a prisoner
exchange. The Taliban said the U.S. initially agreed to take practical
steps on these issues, but then "turned their backs on their promises"
and came up with new conditions for the talks.

Karzai is known for making dramatic demands then backing off under
U.S. pressure. Even if he eventually changes his tone, the call for a
pullback will likely become another issue of contention between the
Afghans and their international allies at a time of growing war
weariness in the United States and other countries of the
international coalition.


http://news.yahoo.com/karzai-tells-nato-pull-back-taliban-us-talks-135534088.html