Karzai's plan and the extension of the US-led occupation and assistance

The following story is taken from Al Jazeera, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/07/20107205263440298.html

The key point is that the Obama administration, repesented by Hilary Clinton, has joined with other nations to extend the US-led occupation for at least another four years. If there is further official confirmation of the agreement, this means that the conditional withdrawal of US troops next summer is out the window. And, according to the Al Jazeera story, even after another four years the withdrawal of troops is only a possibility.

There are four proposals in Karzai's plan referred to in Al Jazeera's report.

The US and the officials of other nations, along with the UN, have accepted President Karzai's plan - conditionally? - that by 2014 Afghanistan will have adequate police and army forces to bring security to the country.

[According to this wishful aspiration, Afghanistan will no longer need foreign troops by 2014. Hard to believe. It implies, by the way, that the US counterinsurgency strategy has turned the corner and is able to win the "hearts and minds" of millions of Afghan citizens.]

Karzai also proposes that money from "international donors give him more control over billions of dollars in aid.

[But there have been many and ongoing reports that Karzai is a weak and illegitimate president, running a government filled with corruption, and having little or no control outside of Kabul.]

In addition, Karzai pledges to create 300,000 new jobs over the next four years. [The Afghanistan government relies heavily on international donors and the US-led occupation and its "reconstruction." Will the donors and occupiers support this job-creating notion? Job creation is not so easy. Just look at how little the Obama administration has done, after spending tens of billions of dollars on an economic "stimulus," and hundreds of billions of saving the big US banks.]

Finally, Karzai's plan says that his government will create [or support the - foreign? - development of] the infrastructure to tap into Afghanistan's billions of dollars of mineral wealth."

Dream on!

Afghan handover plan endorsed


Karzai and Clinton toured a market in Kabul after delivering their opening speeches [AFP]
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has received international backing for plans that would see Afghan forces to take over security across the country in four years.

Karzai outlined the plans at an international conference in Kabul attended by ministers and diplomats from around the world.

"I remain determined that our Afghan national security forces will be responsible for all military and law enforcement operations throughout our country by 2014," Karzai told delegates at the meeting in the Afghan capital.

It was the ninth conference on Afghanistan since the US-led war began there in 2001.
After hearing Karzai's speak, international leaders offered support for the plans he had outlined.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, described the plan as "comprehensive" and said the conference marked a "turning point," while David Cameron, the British prime minister, said plans for a transition in four years were "realistic".'Conditions, not calendars'

Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary-general who chaired the conference with Karzai, said the final communique reflected the determination of the international community. "Now we must focus all our energies on making this vision a reality," he said.

IN DEPTH

Kabul conference cheat sheet: A recap

Focus: Afghanistan's paths to peace

Meanwhile, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato secretary-general, said Nato would not withdraw from Afghanistan until Afghan security forces were able to provide their own security.

"Our mission will end when, only when, the Afghans are able to maintain security on their own," he said. "Our transition will be based on conditions, not calendars."

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Rasmussen said he would not outline a timeline for when Nato forces might start to withdraw, or which provinces they would exit first.

Delegates had been expected to press Karzai to accelerate and improve the training of the Afghan army and police, to facilitate the withdrawal of thousands of Nato troops serving in the country.

Projects and programmes

Karzai also asked international donors to give his government more control over billions of dollars in aid. More than three-quarters of Afghan aid money is spent by NGOs and other organisations, not by the Afghan government.

The Afghan government wants 50 per cent of aid to be channeled through ministries in the next two years.

Nato secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen talks to Al Jazeera's James Bays

"Delivering our resources through hundreds of isolated projects will not achieve the desired results," Karzai said. "It is time to concentrate our efforts on a limited number of projects and programmes."

Also high on the agenda at the conference was Karzai's plan to offer jobs and cash to Taliban members in exchange for them laying down their weapons.

That plan was endorsed at the last major conference on Afghanistan, held in London in January.
Clinton said the United States has seen "positive steps" from Karzai's outreach to insurgents.
Omar Zakhilwal, the Afghan finance minister, presented a list of "national priority programmes," which will be the focus for international aid efforts. He pledged to create 300,000 new jobs over three years through agricultural programmes; to expand women's access to education; and to create infrastructure to tap into Afghanistan's billions of dollars in mineral wealth.

"We are expecting your full support and alignment," Zakhilwal said.

'Concrete steps'

Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary-general, has called for the Afghan president to unveil "concrete" steps to improve governance and promote national reconciliation.
"We expect President Karzai and his government would come up with a concrete action plan... about the way to enhance good governance, promote further reconciliation and also how he can improve the security situation in his country," Ban told the AFP news agency.

Karzai said the Afghan government currently has enough aid funding for the next three years. And Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, promised a lengthy international commitment to rebuilding Afghanistan.

"We have no intention of abandoning our long-term vision," Clinton said. "Too many nations... have suffered too many losses to let this country slide backwards."

Clinton arrived in the Afghan capital late on Monday, following a visit to neighbouring Pakistan. On that leg of the trip, Clinton announced the first part of a $7.5bn aid package for the country, including funds for energy and water projects.

Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies