A.Rafay
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* NYT reports Afghan president also wants US to take direct military action against Taliban havens on Pakistani soil
KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants a mutual security pact that would compel the United States to protect Afghanistan against Pakistan, and, possibly, even take direct military action against Taliban havens on Pakistani soil, the New York Times quoted Afghan sources as saying.
According to the newspaper, it was not until after the meeting of top security officials had ended as Karzai stood in a corridor with a handful of advisers that his frustration with the United States boiled over. Washingtons attempt to open peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar, he fumed, was in reality an attempt to cut him out and make an American deal with the Taliban, according to one of the officials who saw the outburst.
The Talibans sudden willingness to talk in June looked like a potential coup for American diplomacy. The result has been anything but and not just because the Taliban have done more grandstanding than negotiating since opening their Qatar office. Karzai quickly called off Afghan participation in the talks. And now, two weeks later, persuading him to restore his delegation would most likely take more than the United States would be willing to deliver, according to Afghans familiar with his thinking.
He wants a firm commitment on the number of American troops that would stay in Afghanistan past next year, and a lead role in peace efforts, the Afghans said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters.
All of that is rooted in one of Karzais core beliefs, according to those who know him: that the central challenge facing his government is not the Taliban insurgency, but rather in bringing the United States around to his way of thinking.
Assurances that America will take care of us will no longer do for the president, said the Afghan official who witnessed the presidents outburst. To move forward, Karzai wants certainties.
The developments around the Qatar peace opening seemed to be ripped directly from Karzais personal nightmare script: that his government would be marginalised in Washingtons endgame in Afghanistan.
He has long voiced suspicions about American-orchestrated Taliban talks, and recently he has told those around him that the Qatar process could result in a separate peace deal between the United States, the Taliban and the groups backers in Pakistan, and perhaps even his political opponents within Afghanistan as well.
The fact that the Taliban have pointedly refused to say they would talk with Karzais government even as they state their willingness to talk to the Americans has only reinforced his concerns.
He made that clear on Saturday, when after meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain he told reporters that the two had discussed the fact that foreigners should not use the Afghan peace process for their goals and objectives. He did not elaborate.
Karzais increasingly harsh response to American initiatives in recent years has struck some officials as verging on paranoia. But Afghans close to him say it is consistent with his view of the United States as an unreliable ally.
Afghans have not forgotten how the United States during the 1990s effectively outsourced its Afghanistan policy to Pakistan, which then helped bring the Taliban to power. That perceived abandonment remains a staple of conversation among many here. Karzai has often told those close to him of going to Washington for help in the 1990s and having doors slammed in his face nobody cared, said another Afghan who has worked with him. Hes seen this movie before, the Afghan said.
Though the offensive Taliban symbols have since been taken down, a senior State Department official said on Wednesday that the Taliban were demanding that their Qatar office be identified as the political office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and that the sign with the name be restored.
In any case, a member of the Afghan High Peace Council, Said Muhammad Amin Tariq, said that removal of the flag and sign were not enough. Karzai wants more assurances.
In particular, he is said to be adamant about pushing the Obama administration to pin down the specific number of American troops it wants to keep in Afghanistan after the NATO combat mission ends next year, as a sign of commitment to his government.
Karzai and some in his inner circle also seem to believe that the United States needs Afghanistan just as badly, and that they can strong-arm the Obama administration, according to some Afghan officials.
American officials say that kind of thinking is misguided. Though many American commanders and diplomats are pressing for a quick decision on troop numbers, some White House officials say they are increasingly uncertain that a security deal can be secured. People are asking whether thats something we can live with, said one administration official. The Afghans probably wouldnt like to hear the answer to that question.
Much of what Karzai wants beyond the troop commitment seems even more unlikely particularly his demands pertaining to the Taliban talks.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
Karzai
Always makes you laugh! After indians rejected his arms plea! 
KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants a mutual security pact that would compel the United States to protect Afghanistan against Pakistan, and, possibly, even take direct military action against Taliban havens on Pakistani soil, the New York Times quoted Afghan sources as saying.
According to the newspaper, it was not until after the meeting of top security officials had ended as Karzai stood in a corridor with a handful of advisers that his frustration with the United States boiled over. Washingtons attempt to open peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar, he fumed, was in reality an attempt to cut him out and make an American deal with the Taliban, according to one of the officials who saw the outburst.
The Talibans sudden willingness to talk in June looked like a potential coup for American diplomacy. The result has been anything but and not just because the Taliban have done more grandstanding than negotiating since opening their Qatar office. Karzai quickly called off Afghan participation in the talks. And now, two weeks later, persuading him to restore his delegation would most likely take more than the United States would be willing to deliver, according to Afghans familiar with his thinking.
He wants a firm commitment on the number of American troops that would stay in Afghanistan past next year, and a lead role in peace efforts, the Afghans said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters.
All of that is rooted in one of Karzais core beliefs, according to those who know him: that the central challenge facing his government is not the Taliban insurgency, but rather in bringing the United States around to his way of thinking.
Assurances that America will take care of us will no longer do for the president, said the Afghan official who witnessed the presidents outburst. To move forward, Karzai wants certainties.
The developments around the Qatar peace opening seemed to be ripped directly from Karzais personal nightmare script: that his government would be marginalised in Washingtons endgame in Afghanistan.
He has long voiced suspicions about American-orchestrated Taliban talks, and recently he has told those around him that the Qatar process could result in a separate peace deal between the United States, the Taliban and the groups backers in Pakistan, and perhaps even his political opponents within Afghanistan as well.
The fact that the Taliban have pointedly refused to say they would talk with Karzais government even as they state their willingness to talk to the Americans has only reinforced his concerns.
He made that clear on Saturday, when after meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain he told reporters that the two had discussed the fact that foreigners should not use the Afghan peace process for their goals and objectives. He did not elaborate.
Karzais increasingly harsh response to American initiatives in recent years has struck some officials as verging on paranoia. But Afghans close to him say it is consistent with his view of the United States as an unreliable ally.
Afghans have not forgotten how the United States during the 1990s effectively outsourced its Afghanistan policy to Pakistan, which then helped bring the Taliban to power. That perceived abandonment remains a staple of conversation among many here. Karzai has often told those close to him of going to Washington for help in the 1990s and having doors slammed in his face nobody cared, said another Afghan who has worked with him. Hes seen this movie before, the Afghan said.
Though the offensive Taliban symbols have since been taken down, a senior State Department official said on Wednesday that the Taliban were demanding that their Qatar office be identified as the political office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and that the sign with the name be restored.
In any case, a member of the Afghan High Peace Council, Said Muhammad Amin Tariq, said that removal of the flag and sign were not enough. Karzai wants more assurances.
In particular, he is said to be adamant about pushing the Obama administration to pin down the specific number of American troops it wants to keep in Afghanistan after the NATO combat mission ends next year, as a sign of commitment to his government.
Karzai and some in his inner circle also seem to believe that the United States needs Afghanistan just as badly, and that they can strong-arm the Obama administration, according to some Afghan officials.
American officials say that kind of thinking is misguided. Though many American commanders and diplomats are pressing for a quick decision on troop numbers, some White House officials say they are increasingly uncertain that a security deal can be secured. People are asking whether thats something we can live with, said one administration official. The Afghans probably wouldnt like to hear the answer to that question.
Much of what Karzai wants beyond the troop commitment seems even more unlikely particularly his demands pertaining to the Taliban talks.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
Karzai
Always makes you laugh! After indians rejected his arms plea! 
