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Kabul Downplays Apparent Karzai-Petraeus Dispute

   VOA News 15 November 2010
   Afghan  President  Hamid  Karzai  listens during a press conference in
   Kabul, Afghanistan, 25 Oct. 2010.

Photo: AP

   Afghan  President  Hamid  Karzai  listens during a press conference in
   Kabul, 25 Oct. 2010.

   The  Afghan  government  is  playing  down an apparent dispute between
   President  Hamid  Karzai and NATO's commander in Afghanistan about the
   NATO strategy for fighting Taliban militants.
   Karzai  spokesman Waheed Omar said Monday the president has confidence
   in  NATO  commander  General  David Petraeus. Omar also said Kabul and
   NATO  are  engaged  in  a  dialogue about combat strategies but remain
   partners with common interests.
   In a recent interview with the [1]Washington Post newspaper, President
   Karzai said he wants U.S.-led NATO forces to reduce the visibility and
   intensity of military operations in Afghanistan. Â
   Mr. Karzai also called on NATO forces to stop night-time raids that he
   says   aggravate  Afghans  and  incite  people  to  join  the  Taliban
   insurgency.
   The  [2]Washington  Post says General Petraeus expressed "astonishment
   and  disappointment"  about  Mr. Karzai's criticism of operations that
   have  been  a  key  part  of  NATO's  strategy  to improve security in
   Afghanistan.
   U.S.  Special  Envoy  Richard Holbrooke said Monday NATO forces do not
   have  a  strategy  to exit Afghanistan but rather a plan to transition
   the country to Afghan security control.
   Speaking  on  a  visit  to Islamabad, Holbrooke said the United States
   will begin withdrawing some troops from Afghanistan next July but will
   retain  a combat presence in the country until 2014. He said some U.S.
   forces will remain in Afghanistan after that date in a training role.
   Holbrooke  said  Washington  will  present  its  transition  plan  for
   Afghanistan  at  a  NATO  summit  in  Lisbon  later  this week that he
   predicted will mark a "turning point" in U.S. policies in Afghanistan.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

References

   1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/13/AR2010111304001.html
   2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/15/AR2010111501888.html?hpid=topnews

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