.
.
.
Hamid Karzai:
'I Saw No Good' With America's Presence In Afghanistan
.Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, admits that he has not spoken to Barack Obama in seven months as he reveals the complete breakdown of trust between his country and the United States
.
By Harriet Alexander "Information Clearing House - "The London Telegraph"
.
The president of Afghanistan has not spoken to his American counterpart since June, he said, in an interview which showed the increasing gulf between Kabul and Washington.
Hamid Karzai, 56, has grown increasingly hostile towards
Barack Obama as Afghanistan prepares to elect a new
president in April. Mr Karzai will not stand again, but he
is determined to emphasise his disagreements with the United
States before he steps down.
"This whole 12 years was one of constant pleading with
America to treat the lives of our civilians as lives of
people," he said, adding that he had not spoken to Mr Obama
since June."We met in South Africa [at Mandela's funeral] but didn't speak. Letters have been exchanged."
U.S. Turns a Blind Eye to Opium in Afganistan.
Mr Karzai said that he "saw no good" in the American presence in his country.
The
president of Afghanistan has not spoken to his American
counterpart since June, he said, in an interview which
showed the increasing gulf between Kabul and Washington.
Hamid Karzai, 56, has grown increasingly hostile towards Barack Obama as Afghanistan prepares to elect a new president in April. Mr Karzai will not stand again, but he is determined to emphasise his disagreements with the United States before he steps down.
CIA, Heroin Still Rule Day in Afghanistan
"This whole 12 years was one of constant pleading with America to treat the lives of our civilians as lives of people," he said, adding that he had not spoken to Mr Obama since June.
Opium and the CIA: The CIA's Historical role in narcotics, and importing them into USA with 'WAR' AS A fake cover.
"We met in South Africa [at Mandela's funeral] but didn't speak. Letters have been exchanged."
Afghanistan Still World's Opium Capital
Mr Karzai said that he "saw no good" in the American presence in his country.
.
Hamid Karzai, 56, has grown increasingly hostile towards Barack Obama as Afghanistan prepares to elect a new president in April. Mr Karzai will not stand again, but he is determined to emphasise his disagreements with the United States before he steps down.
CIA, Heroin Still Rule Day in Afghanistan
"This whole 12 years was one of constant pleading with America to treat the lives of our civilians as lives of people," he said, adding that he had not spoken to Mr Obama since June.
Opium and the CIA: The CIA's Historical role in narcotics, and importing them into USA with 'WAR' AS A fake cover.
"We met in South Africa [at Mandela's funeral] but didn't speak. Letters have been exchanged."
Afghanistan Still World's Opium Capital
Mr Karzai said that he "saw no good" in the American presence in his country.
.
"They
did not work for me, they worked against me," he said, and
referred to the Taliban in his interview with The Sunday
Times as "brothers" and the Americans as "rivals".
.
.
His
rhetoric has been ill received in Washington, where American
politicians are evermore infuriated by Mr Karzai's stance.
.
.
America spent $648bn (£394bn) during the war, which has cost
2,211 lives. Last week Congress cut development aid to
Afghanistan in half, reducing it to $1.1bn.
.
.
But Mr
Karzai is unrepentant.
.
.
"The
money they should have paid to the police they paid to
private security firms and creating militias who caused
lawlessness, corruption and highway robbery," he said.
.
.
"They
then began systematically waging psychological warfare on
our people, encouraging our money to go out of our country.
.
.
"What
they did was create pockets of wealth and a vast countryside
of deprivation and anger."
He is
slightly more generous in his assessment of Britain, "which
has conducted with us in a very civilised way and tried to
bring better relations between us and Pakistan."
.
.
But he
added: "In general the US-led Nato mission in terms of
bringing security has not been successful, particularly in
Helmand."
.
.
A key
bone of contention between the US and Afghanistan is the
bilateral security agreement, which proposes 8-12,000 troops
remaining in Afghanistan beyond the withdrawal of combat
soldiers at the end of 2014. America is keen for the troops
to remain to prevent "losing" Afghanistan, and the country's
tribal elders supported the plan at an assembly in November.
Yet Mr
Karzai is dragging his heels, saying that history has taught
Afghanistan not to "gamble" on pacts.
.
.
"Under
pressure our kings signed things and all that turned out to
be disastrous for Afghanistan," he said. "Under pressure
today if I do the same I don't know the consequences."
.
.
The
president, who has ruled the country since 2001, said that
he was proud of his legacy.
.
.
"Afghanistan is home to all Afghans now. We have a
parliament where commanders, clergy, mujahids and women sit
together."
.
.
"We
have 11 candidates running for president who represent a
combination of all Afghan people and thinking."
.
.
And he
shrugged off concerns about the implications of his
posturing, saying that Western anger and the cutting of
financial aid did not trouble him.
.
.
"Money
is not everything," he said. "If you ask me as an
individual, I would rather live in poverty than
uncertainty."
.
.
©
Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2014
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
