[dehai-news] (The New York Times) Afghans Want a Deal on Foreign Troops


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From: wolda002@umn.edu
Date: Wed Aug 27 2008 - 01:31:18 EDT


Afghans Want a Deal on Foreign Troops
By CARLOTTA GALL

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan Council of Ministers decided Monday to
review the presence of international forces and agreements with foreign
allies, including NATO and the United States, after a series of military
operations that have caused mounting civilian losses.

The ministers demanded a status of forces agreement, which would stipulate
that the authority and responsibilities of international forces be
negotiated, and they said that aerial bombing, illegal detentions and house
raids by international forces must be stopped.

The declaration came after several military operations involving American
forces resulted in heavy civilian casualties, most recently airstrikes in
western Afghanistan on Friday that killed more than 90 people, most of them
women and children, according to a government commission. The United States
military is investigating the latest episode; it earlier said the
airstrikes had killed 5 civilians and 25 militants.

As security has deteriorated in the country and economic conditions have
worsened, the government and its international partners have encountered
rising popular dissatisfaction.

Heavy-handed bombing raids and house raids, which are seen as culturally
unacceptable by many Afghans who guard their privacy fiercely, and the
detention of hundreds of suspects for years without trial at the Bagram air
base and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have stirred up Afghans’ strong
independent streak and ancient dislike of invaders.

President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly called for foreign forces to
coordinate operations with Afghan forces and local authorities, and for
greater care to be used with airstrikes. In an interview in April, Mr.
Karzai warned that civilian casualties were undermining the fight against
terrorism, and he questioned, as many Afghans do, why Afghan villagers were
under attack when the militants’ training camps in Pakistan were left
untouched.

“The war against terrorism is not in Afghan villages,” he said. “The
war against terrorism is elsewhere, and that’s where the war should
go.”

The Council of Ministers’ declaration was issued after a weekly Monday
meeting that is usually led by the president and attended by about 25
ministers and the two vice presidents.

The council condemned the rising number of civilian casualties and said:
“The issues of uncoordinated house searches and harassing civilians have
also been of concern to the government of Afghanistan, which has been
shared with the commanders of international forces in Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, to date, our demands have not been addressed. Rather, more
civilians, including women and children, are losing their lives as a result
of air raids.”

A presidential spokesman, Homayun Hamidzada, said the government wanted to
review all aspects of the international presence, including the presence of
military forces, to clarify roles and responsibilities.

“In 2001 there was a different Afghanistan; today there is a government
and a parliament. The situation has evolved, and it is just about time,”
he said.

Mr. Hamidzada said the various declarations and agreements that Afghanistan
had signed with its international partners since 2001 amounted only to
“ad hoc” arrangements and an exchange of letters.

The Afghan Defense Ministry has a status of forces agreement with the
United Nations-mandated forces from NATO, but not with the United
States-led coalition, its counterterrorism forces or the forces of
Operation Enduring Freedom, Mr. Hamidzada said. Afghanistan has only a
declaration of strategic partnership with the United States, he said.

According to a report by the Congressional Research Service, Afghanistan
did enter into a 2003 agreement that gave United States military personnel
the equivalent of diplomatic immunity in Afghanistan, and while not
authorizing the United States to carry out military operations, the
agreement recognized that they were continuing. In 2005, President Bush and
Mr. Karzai signed a joint declaration outlining a prospective future
agreement between the countries.

The Afghan government now wants a multilateral agreement between
Afghanistan and members of the international community, specifically
covering NATO, the United States-led coalition and the forces of Operation
Enduring Freedom, Mr. Hamidzada said.

The Council of Ministers ordered the defense and foreign affairs ministers
to start a review and begin negotiations with international partners.

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