Taliban Launch Deadly Attack On Kabul Hours After Obama Visit

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's president has branded his U.S. allies as corrupt, wasteful and contemptuous of Afghan lives. Once he even threatened to join the Taliban. Nonetheless, Hamid Karzai signed a deal that could keep thousands of U.S. troops in his country for years.

Despite his rhetoric, Karzai needs international support if Afghanistan is to survive economically and avoid descending into civil war like it did when the Soviets left two decades ago.

The signing of the long-term strategic partnership, which will govern the relationship between the two countries from the end of 2014 until 2024, was welcomed on Wednesday by leading Afghans as a positive message that the West will not turn its back on their country.

It also gives Afghanistan much-needed military support to deal with an insurgency that shows no signs of abating. Less than two hours after President Barack Obama left Afghanistan early Wednesday, the Taliban carried out a brazen suicide attack in the capital against a heavily fortified compound housing hundreds of foreigners, killing at least seven Afghan civilians.

"Karzai was thinking that maybe it is good for the national interest of Afghanistan, its stability, peace and security. Without the Americans, peace and stability is difficult," said Wahid Muzhda, a leading political analyst and ethnic Pashtun – the community from which the Taliban draws most of their members.

Even neighboring Pakistan, which has been accused by the United States of not doing enough to dismantle insurgent safe havens on its territory, would benefit from a continued American presence in Afghanistan, some analysts say.

Riffat Hussain, a professor of Defense Studies at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, acknowledged that some Pakistani officials, especially in the military, are worried that the U.S.-supported Afghan government is too cozy with Pakistan's archenemy, India. But he said that many officials are even more concerned about what will happen in Afghanistan if international forces leave.

"Many in Pakistan think continued American military and NATO presence is not necessarily a bad thing because in the absence of their presence, Afghanistan is more likely to descend into chaos," Hussain said.

The agreement is widely expected to be approved by the 249-member Afghan parliament, possibly as early as next week.

"As long as it is good for the country and good for the Afghan people, we would like to vote in favor of it. We would like to accept that partnership with a very clear stand, a stand which will assure Afghans that Afghanistan will be a prosperous country," said parliament member Shukria Barekzai, a Pashtun.

The partnership accord has been described as the capstone in a series of agreements that Afghanistan is signing with U.S. allies. A failure to make a deal with the United States would have endangered pacts it has already signed with America's NATO allies, including Britain.

"The signing of strategic partnerships with European countries and especially the United States is to the benefit of Afghanistan," said Nazir Ahmad Hanafi, a member of Afghanistan's parliament and supreme religious council who hails from the western city of Herat.

The deal signed overnight by Obama and Karzai does not commit the United States to any specific troop presence or spending. But it does give the U.S. the option of keeping forces in Afghanistan after combat troops withdraw by 2014 for two specific purposes: training of Afghan forces and operations against al-Qaida. The terror group is present in Pakistan but has only a nominal presence inside Afghanistan.

Officials have previously said as many as 20,000 U.S. special operations forces and other troops may remain after the combat mission ends, but that still must still be negotiated. Those troops would be on the ground for at least another decade.

Andrew Exum, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a think tank in Washington, said Obama "delivered a strong and necessary message to the Afghans that the United States will remain committed to their security." But he criticized Obama for implying that the war was winding down.

"I do not think this is the beginning of the end of the war," Exum said. "I think it is misleading to say we are winding down the war. The war does not stop and start according to our desires, and it will not stop for the Afghans. It will also not stop for the many U.S. special operations forces that will continue to fight by, with, and through the Afghans," Exum said.

Afghanistan also desperately needs support for its future development and to keep its economy afloat. The World Bank has said the country will require billions of dollars in aid for a decade or more, especially if it hopes to fund services such as security. Last year, Afghanistan received $15.7 billion in aid, representing more than 90 percent of its public spending, according to the World Bank.

The U.S. has spent more than $20 billion in the last two years to build up the Afghan army and police – a key part of its exit strategy in 2014. It hopes to have a 352,000-strong force ready by the end of the year, so it can hand over the lead for security around the country to the Afghans by mid-2013. The U.S. and other allied countries will then move into a support role.

Without the strategic agreement there would have been no legal framework for continued U.S. assistance to Afghanistan. To keep the army and police operating past 2014 will require at least $4.1 billion a year – money that could have vanished if a deal was not signed.

"The commitment from the United States that it will support Afghanistan politically, economically and militarily" is "good for the Afghan people," said Fazal Sangcharaki, a spokesman for opposition politician Abdullah Abdullah, who lost to Karzai in the 2009 presidential elections.

But despite their welcome, Afghan politicians were critical of the Karzai government for not making the text public before it was signed. They also said that most ordinary Afghans had no clue that Obama and Karzai had signed it, as most were asleep and would have found out only after the U.S. president left following a secretive trip in which he spent less than seven hours on the ground in Afghanistan.

"When he came at midnight, the people of Afghanistan were asleep," said Nasrullah Sadeqizada, an ethnic Hazara parliamentarian from central Daykundi province. "The U.S. president should come during the day and hold a public celebration. But unfortunately he came at midnight when the people of Afghanistan were asleep and left before they woke up."

The Taliban interpreted his overnight trip as a sign they are winning.

"He can't even come here without telling anyone. To me that shows that Barack Obama is afraid of the Taliban movement," Taliban spokesman Qari Youssef said. "Coming to Afghanistan without telling anyone clearly shows how much they have achieved in the past 10 years."

___

Associated Press writers Amir Shah, Rahim Faiez in Kabul and Mirwais Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.

Photos: Obama in Afghanistan

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• US President Barack Obama is greeted by US Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti and US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker on May 1, 2012 upon arrival at Bagram Air Field, some 50km north of Kabul. Obama arrived in Afghanistan for a previously unannounced visit. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)

• US President Barack Obama is steps off Air Force One May 1, 2012 upon arrival at Bagram Air Field, some 50km north of Kabul, in Afghanistan. Obama arrived in Afghanistan for a previously unannounced visit. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)

• President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrive before signing a strategic partnership agreement, Tuesday, May 1, 2012, at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrive before signing a strategic partnership agreement, Tuesday, May 1, 2012, at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• Afghan President Hamid Karzai (R) shakes hands with US President Barack Obama after signing a strategic partnership agreement on May 1, 2012 at the Presidential Palace in Kabul. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)

• President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai speak before signing a strategic partnership agreement at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai sign a strategic partnership agreement at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai emerge from their meeting before signing a strategic partnership agreement at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• President Barack Obama addresses troops at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• Troops cheer as US President Barack Obama speaks during a visit to Bagram Air Field on May 1, 2012 in Afghanistan. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)

• US President Barack Obama speaks to troops during a visit to Bagram Air Field on May 1, 2012 in Afghanistan. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)

• US President Barack Obama is greeted by Marine Gen. John Allen, the top US commander in Afghanistan, as he arrives on stage to address troops during a visit to Bagram Air Field on May 1, 2012 in Afghanistan. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)

• US President Barack Obama salutes as he arrives to address troops during a visit to Bagram Air Field on May 1, 2012 in Afghanistan. Obama signed a US-Afghanistan strategic partnership agreement during his unannounced visit to the country. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)

• Marine Gen. John Allen, the top US commander in Afghanistan, arrives to introduce US President Barack Obama during a visit to Bagram Air Field on May 1, 2012 in Afghanistan. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GettyImages)

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Comments

[MileHighhvr2011]

11:50 AM on 05/04/2012

"GREAT JOB" numb nuts! I bet you're still patting yourself on the back and gloating, aren't you!?!? You're a pitiful worm ..

[nicothebaker]

10:49 PM on 05/03/2012

The Taliban are negotiating, according to Obama. I guess it isn't going so well.

[bigmower1]

07:11 AM on 05/03/2012

It is very suspicious on how the poloticians of Afganistan and Iraq and Packistan are signing these deals behind the citizens back in secret, the citizens dont want the outsiders there, and it is also suspicious on how the people are trying to kill their own so called leaders. The Taliban are aslo being called insurgents, it seems to be that these people are trying to protect their countries from the outsiders and that the countries so called leaders are betraying them and have become traders, why else would their own people try to kill them. What are they agreeing on and who is benefiting from all of this? Something is very suspicious.

[reciprocat]

02:40 PM on 05/08/2012

politicians
afghanistan
packistan
traitors.

...and, just about every week not just in the three countries you mentioned, but ESPECIALLY in those 3 countries...some "citizen" of the country blows SEVERAL of his countrymen/women apart with a strapped on or car type bomb...frequently this is carried out in mosque.

I wonder what group of people with what sort of backdoor agreement gets that sort of thing going?

[bigmower1]

08:56 PM on 05/09/2012

This is what your told by the very people making the deals. It is there way of life , it has been like that for thousands of years and it will never change,it is their business.

[rdak]

07:08 AM on 05/03/2012

Obama is a joke

[TVMVT]

06:15 AM on 05/03/2012

Obama should be IMPEACHED immediately for signing a long term deal in Afghanistan without the support of the vast majority of Americans!

[talari]

03:18 AM on 05/03/2012

I don't get it. Bush and Obama bankrupted our nation by spending 10 trillion dollars to kill Saddam and Bin Laden and make the world safe. They told us "Mission Accomplished". So why is this stuff still going on? Is our country a better place than it was in the year 2000? Are you doing better? Is your family's future more safe and secure?

[08politicaljunkie]

06:35 AM on 05/03/2012

Where do you get "they?"

Senator Obama was against starting a war. Since he's become President, he has to manage and conclude it.

[Bill Hummel]

01:31 AM on 05/03/2012

This was nothing but political.

[Bill Hummel]

01:30 AM on 05/03/2012

I wonder why.?

[rocknhula]

11:47 PM on 05/02/2012

You know, we've got to pay the devil his dues on this one. She's right! I can't believe our Intel people didn't perceive when the enemy found out about this they would point to cowardess on our leader's part. They already consider him a weak man. We need to turn that around.

[Barbara OMeara]

03:25 AM on 05/03/2012

I don't think any country thinks Obama is a weak man. He's the man who got Bin Laden and has set out to prevent crimes against America by any means. His ability to work with the Military Leaders surpasses those of other presidents throughout history. Obama is one of the most successful Presidents in my 61 years. He works to keep America safe, while Bush and his administration put America in harms way repeatedly for Haliburton profit!! VOTE OBAMA 2012...or find America at a higher level of risk for terrorists. Have you noticed the constant halt of plots against America???? This would be because Obama has invested in Home Land Security...to protect you and All Americans. It's proven time and again that Obama works for Americans..yet propoganda bs runs amuck on blogs..truth is in the facts...President Obama works for AMERICANS...VOTE OBAMA 2012

[SpazeGoat]

06:08 AM on 05/03/2012

What are you talking about? Do you really think Obama single-handily killed Osama Bin Laden? Do you honestly think without the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, that the U.S. government could have found him, even when it took 10 years after the fact? I'm not saying Bush was a good president, but didn't he expand Homeland Security and dump $40 Billion into it after 9/11? If you are going to credit anyone with the kill, it should be the CIA and Navy Seal Team Six. All Obama had to do was approve the strike. If you don't live in NYC or D.C., then your paranoia is really getting the best of you. Obama lies just like the rest of them and is a weaker then most. Keep blaming Bush though, that seems to be working.

[lovableme1]

07:57 AM on 05/03/2012

Oh really? Obama went out with his own gun and got Bin Laden??? Our MILITARY got Bin Laden... while all the prez could do was sit & hold his head.... give me a break. He hasnt done a thing for us but drive us down the road to bankruptcy. Wake up & smell the coffee.

[sonny parker]

10:31 PM on 05/02/2012

Hey, this is no place for logical reasoning....

[sonny parker]

10:22 PM on 05/02/2012

If he only hjad a brain...To think that this minority statesman (any I use the term losely) thinks he can change the middle east rage against tribe to tribe because he thinks he is cute,,,,nobama put some one who can lead not...kibbitz.....

[PeterNPaul]

10:08 PM on 05/02/2012

Looks like there is your answer Mr. Obama. We are being suckered--again.

If we pull out there will be billions that simply stop coming into the country. The gravy train will be over for the corrupt Karzai government. If we were to leave, my guess is that you would be amazed at the quiet....

They have figured out that the more violence, the more money we send, the more they can skim off the top, the more we send. That took about a week for them, for us, well, we haven't gotten there yet.

[think for]

09:31 PM on 05/02/2012

Obama plays games while Rome burns.

[jackjmass]

09:10 PM on 05/02/2012

They didn't even wait long enough for the ink on the "agreement" to dry, did they?

[juliusrscottjr]

08:32 PM on 05/02/2012

its like the mob it business its not personal so who is it a the time do the same things no justification just hope for the best and goes to who ever is in the seat its politics this war should be gone by noww