NATO commander slams Afghan president over anti-US comments
Iran Press TV
Fri Mar 15, 2013 5:47AM GMT
The commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan has lashed out at Afghan president’s recent anti-US remarks, warning that the comments could increase threats of attack on US forces.
“[Hamid] Karzai's remarks could be a catalyst for some to lash out against our forces -- he may also issue orders that put our forces at risk,” General Joseph Dunford said in an advisory that was sent to his senior commanders on Wednesday.
The advisory, which was obtained by The New York Times, came after Karzai accused Washington of colluding with the Taliban in an attempt to justify its presence in the war-torn Afghanistan. The Afghan president also banned the US-led foreign forces from entering university campuses.
“We're at a rough point in the relationship,” Dunford said in his advisory, adding, “[Militants] are also watching and will look for a way to exploit the situation - they have already ramped up for the spring.”
On March 10, the president said that there are “ongoing daily talks between Taliban, American and foreigners in Europe and in the [Persian] Gulf states.”
Referring to two Taliban bombings in Kabul and Khost on March 9, the Afghan president noted that, “Those bombs … were not a show of force to America. They were in service of America. It was in the service of the 2014 slogan to warn us if they (Americans) are not here then Taliban will come.”
Meanwhile a statement from Karzai’s office on Thursday called the US “a friend and strategic partner of Afghanistan” and said that the Afghan president’s recent comments “had been to correct rather than damage this [US-Afghan] relationship.”
“The president said that both countries are in a critical stage of relations, therefore it is natural that each side tries to stand for and focus on its national interests,” the statement added.
The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 under the pretext of fighting terrorism. While the war removed the Taliban from power, insecurity continues to be high across the country.
MR/HMV
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