pakistani342
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2013
- Messages
- 3,485
- Reaction score
- 6
- Country
- Location
LATimes hints at:
1. A Junior official may sign the BSA
2. Other articles (lost the references) are even reporting a Possible coup by the ANA
original article here excerpts below:
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials seeking to close a deal by year's end on the future of American troops in Afghanistan are exploring ways to bypass the country's mercurial president, Hamid Karzai, who negotiated the agreement but now refuses to sign it.
Frustrated by Karzai's abrupt declaration that he won't ink the deal before Afghan elections in April, the Obama administration has begun pushing for Foreign Minister Zarar Ahmad Osmani or another top official in Kabul to sign the agreement in coming weeks, several U.S. officials said.
...
Even U.S. officials acknowledge that bypassing Karzai is probably not a viable solution unless Karzai accepts the idea.
"The heads of state wouldn't have to sign the document, but they would have to delegate that authority," said a senior U.S. official in Kabul familiar with the discussions. "So I don't think it's clear here if it could be put into effect without [Karzai's] approval."
...
Azarakhsh Hafizi, a loya jirga delegate and head of the International Chamber of Commerce in Kabul, said business leaders worry that collapse of the accord will ravage an already weak economy heavily dependent on foreign aid. Without the security deal, foreign military and development aid would drop dramatically.
Atiqullah Baryalai, Karzai's former deputy defense minister, said Karzai "wants to hold the accord hostage'' as long as possible in the hope of forcing U.S. concessions.
"He'll sign, believe me, but first he'll push it as far as he can," Baryalai said.
Waliullah Rahmani, director of the Kabul Center for Strategic Studies, said Karzai is "wise enough to realize that the Americans have drawn a red line he can't afford to cross."
1. A Junior official may sign the BSA
2. Other articles (lost the references) are even reporting a Possible coup by the ANA
original article here excerpts below:
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials seeking to close a deal by year's end on the future of American troops in Afghanistan are exploring ways to bypass the country's mercurial president, Hamid Karzai, who negotiated the agreement but now refuses to sign it.
Frustrated by Karzai's abrupt declaration that he won't ink the deal before Afghan elections in April, the Obama administration has begun pushing for Foreign Minister Zarar Ahmad Osmani or another top official in Kabul to sign the agreement in coming weeks, several U.S. officials said.
...
Even U.S. officials acknowledge that bypassing Karzai is probably not a viable solution unless Karzai accepts the idea.
"The heads of state wouldn't have to sign the document, but they would have to delegate that authority," said a senior U.S. official in Kabul familiar with the discussions. "So I don't think it's clear here if it could be put into effect without [Karzai's] approval."
...
Azarakhsh Hafizi, a loya jirga delegate and head of the International Chamber of Commerce in Kabul, said business leaders worry that collapse of the accord will ravage an already weak economy heavily dependent on foreign aid. Without the security deal, foreign military and development aid would drop dramatically.
Atiqullah Baryalai, Karzai's former deputy defense minister, said Karzai "wants to hold the accord hostage'' as long as possible in the hope of forcing U.S. concessions.
"He'll sign, believe me, but first he'll push it as far as he can," Baryalai said.
Waliullah Rahmani, director of the Kabul Center for Strategic Studies, said Karzai is "wise enough to realize that the Americans have drawn a red line he can't afford to cross."
