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Subscribe to RSSAfghan President Hamid Karzai expresses concern, Friday, over the manner in which the US is handling the investigation into the recent massacre of 16 Afghan civilians.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Friday that he was at "the end of the rope" with the United States, which he accused of not fully cooperating with an investigation into the massacre of 16 Afghan villagers. Karzai also questioned whether only one soldier could have been involved.
A series of blunders by the United States, including the killings in Kandahar province on Sunday and the inadvertent burning of copies of the Koran at a NATO base last month, has strained already tense relations between the countries.
NBC News: US soldier suspected in Afghanistan massacre identified
"This has been going on for too long. You have heard me before. It is by all means the end of the rope here," Karzai told reporters at the heavily fortified presidential palace.
Flanked by senior officials, Karzai listened to village elders and the families of victims of the massacre, and dressed somberly in black for the start of an expected two days of talks to discuss the killings.
Some at the meeting shouted, some demanded answers, but all said they wanted any soldiers involved punished.
"I don't want any compensation. I don't want money, I don't want a trip to Mecca, I don't want a house. I want nothing. But what I absolutely want is the punishment of the Americans. This is my demand, my demand, my demand and my demand," said one villager, whose brother was killed in the nighttime slaughter.
Furious Afghans and lawmakers have demanded that the soldier responsible be tried in Afghanistan, but despite those calls, the U.S. staff sergeant was flown out on Wednesday to Kuwait. He reported was on his way to the United States on Friday.
"The army chief has just reported that the Afghan investigation team did not receive the cooperation that they expected from the United States. Therefore these are all questions that we'll be raising, and raising very loudly, and raising very clearly," Karzai said.
Karzai appeared to back the belief of the villagers, and many other Afghans including the country's parliament, that one gunman acting alone could not have killed so many people, and in different locations some distance apart.
"They believe it's not possible for one person to do that. In (one) family, in four rooms people were killed, women and children were killed, and they were all brought together in one room and then put on fire. That one man cannot do," Karzai said.
Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians, has been deployed three times to Iraq where officials say he suffered a traumatic head injury. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
Karzai also is now insisting that U.S. forces retreat from rural areas immediately and let Afghans take the lead in security next year. But the White House and the Pentagon said Friday that nothing would collapse the war plan, even after the massacre, the inadvertent Quran burnings by U.S. soldiers and the deaths of seven American servicemen at the hands of their allies.
President Barack Obama called Karzai on Friday seeking clarification on the demand concerning U.S. troops in rural areas, and White House press secretary Jay Carney said the leaders agreed to keep discussing the matter, which is at the heart of the military strategy.
"I think that the two men were very much on the same page" about gradually handing over security responsibility to Afghan forces, with U.S. and other international troops switching to a support role throughout Afghanistan sometime in 2013, Carney said. A final transition to Afghan control is supposed to happen by the end of 2014.
Polls have shown that up to 60 percent of Americans say it's time to end the war in Afghanistan. And that's not lost on the administration.
"The Afghan people are tired of war," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, just back from Afghanistan, acknowledged on Friday. "The American people share some of that tiredness after 10 years of war, as well. All of that's understandable."
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Well, Karzai should know that Americans are at the end of our rope at protecting him and his so called governement. I say piss on Karzai, let him fend for himself in Afghanistan, and let's see how long it will take for him to request asylum and protection from US. He's got some king kong size nerve(s)!
And I demand the trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammad for mass murder and the Maj Nidal Hassan for the FT hood shooting !
I demand to know why Mus lim terrorists are getting a pass in the USA for crimes committed on US soil !
tallman, ask the muslim in the white house why.
The court martial of Major Hassan is scheduled for 12 June 2012. What makes you so demanding, demanding?
Time to pull out and let them eat each other. The best solution to afganistan is to eliminate the afgans, depopulate the regeion and salt the earth. no more problems, no more wars their. end of story.
There is no such thing as a limited war, either go to win or stay home.
Alls fair in WAR.
You would have thought the US would have agreed to have him tried by the local courts there. Wierd, would have been the best move.
chris, that is the most ignorant statement I have read on here all day. Americans take care of our own. I can tell you have never been in the military and picked up a weapon or put your life in the hands of the people you are stationed with. Cowards like you that have others do their fighting for them will never have a clue.
Bite the hand that feeds much, Karzai?
I can't wait to read the news some day soon that Karzai has been shot dead, his body riddled with bullets and his head cut off.
so lets leave, slash and burn on our way out...
Destroy every last poppy too!
Tell Karzai "adios", slap a 3 trillion dollar bill in his hand that Afganistan owes us and get our troops out of there. Let him be a dictator or kiss Taliban donkey or whatever he wants to do. Politicians just don't have the guts to face the reactions of the voters when they do the right things. There will always be a 40 to 50% who won't agree with whatever is done. Why not put 4 or 5 things to a vote and see what the American people want done. Solves all the problems, most of us can live with it if most Americans disagree with us, but politicians can't. Right now, I'd bet that 70% of Americans would say to get the hell out of there and tell Karzai to kiss our donkey, cutting off all foreign aid to Afganistan. End of his rope, we are sick of him and his rope and his two bit country and his stupid Koran and them backwards people of his.
Chirs150, are you nuts!? Try him in Afghanistan? Why don't you just put this guy up against the wall and shoot him today! This is about the same level of fairness and "justice" your going to get from these 9th century mentality Afghan courts.
Maybe it is that Karzai's bank account is sufficiently heavy now, so he can afford to diss the US. These bunch of hypocrites.....I wish that we could just ship out now and leave them to wallow in their filth. As to potential terrorist threat to the US, I think that is now history. They will not dare anymore.....not any state or any identifiable group. So let's forget states and keep focused on the renegades.
At the end of his rope huh? This is the idiot who wanted to negotiate with the Taliban. Lets leave and see which end of the rope he ends up on.
Get the HELL OUT OF AFGHANISTAN! The United States had no business there in the first place!Don't start out with the big bad boogey man Crap, either,because I'm not buying and I never bought it right from the get go.If it looks like sh it and smells like sh it, then it's Sh it! Pardon the description but that's all this is!
This so called War, was invented, and manufactured, by a bunch of Corrupt Politicians, and Greedy Filthy,Stinking, Stenching, Business Men! The Gullible people of this country fell for this Stupid Crap,hook, line, and sinker.
From some of the comments on here, you people are some of the ones who bought into these Blatant Lies and Stupidity!
Here's a thought PEOPLE, maybe if we hadn't gone over to Afghanistan,based on the premise of STUPIDITY AND BIG BAD BOOGEY MEN,maybe that Soldier would not of been there, would not have cracked up, and would not have killed all those poor innocent people.
You want to blame him, then by all means knock yourselves out.However if you're going to do that, you better also pass the blame on to the Gangsters and Thugs that perpetuated this whole illusion of STUPIDITY and BOOGEY MEN by going over there and invading that country!Because they're right at the top of the list along with Sargent Crack Up there.
I do not blame Karzai, not in the least! Again Time to Get then Hell Out of that CRAP HOLE!
We are still there because our government wants to use Afghanistan as a launching pad for an invastion into Iran. I'm getting to think that the middle east people are correct that we are dominators of the world. What they don't know is it's not the American population but our government that has the dominant mentality. Of course, it's at the expense of the lives of our solders. We should just send Congress over there to fight and bring our troops home.
Yes, the republican candidates all want to attack Iran except Ron Paul. Obama doesn't want another stupid war but there may be some advantage in being in Afghanistan until things get worked out one way or another with Iran. There was a balance of power in the middle east until Cowboy Bush overthrew the government in Iraq. You think Saddam would have stood for nukes in Iran?
Time for us to go and let the savages massacre each other. That entire craphole country is not worth one more American life.
We have our own savages here to deal with.
BINGO JimS,couldn't of said it better myself!
Let's get out of Afghanistan. I've started a petition to encourage President Obama and Congress to pull the plug on this cesspool.
http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-killing-americans-in-afghanistan
Thanks for supporting our troops!
So what's a few dozen more dead muslims? They kill each other by the hundreds each day. Just pull the troops out and let them do the job for us; arabs suicide bomb and kill each other until there is only one left. Let the winner come here and live in California on welfare for the rest of their life.
Might have a hard time finding 72 virgins in California
What the hell happened? This man should have been tried in-country! At least where Karzai could have watched? Granted, the location would have had to be closely gaurded! We have the personnel there for security! Why did they send him back here? There are Dr.s there to treat the soldier while his trial went on. Under no circumstances should this soldier be turned over to these Assghanis! WE are at the end of our rope here! WE demand those responsible for killing the soldiers during the idiotic riot, be turned over to us for trial! Hows that Karzhit?? You like those apples? Tit for tat M-efer! Send the soldiers home, start right now, Mr. President! No more pissing around with people with sand for brains! GETEM HOME NOW!!!
Its not georges war or abes or bushes finally maybe just maybe obama will admit this war and extention is his and must be ended now! TO MUCH MONEY ,LIVES AND CRIPPLED TROOPS for what?A cess pool after 12 years that will never end...its over, bury this bone and free our brave troops and the taxpayers!
I am listening to the US Ambasador to Afghanistan now; he is repeating the same line of bull--"we want the same thing, the Afghans want......" This idiot knows the lie he keeps repeating to support our puppet goverment, led by Karzai. It is the same tired old "domino" policy of the 60's. We are spending our wealth in a false attempt to protect our wealth. Let the Afghans be Afghans and bring our young men and women home to protect our country against the real enemies that are providing weapons and drugs to our youth.
@Bluegrassguitar: I reason we are still there is because American businesses, contrators, and war suppliers are making $$$$$$$$. The US government doesn't care what the US public/majority of people think. If we lived in a democracy then they might but we live in a Republic...and moving towards Socialism with Obama.
Western Civilization has been interfering with the middle east for centuries and still haven't got it figured out. The US government sponsored or appointed Zarzai as well as Saddam Hussein and years later we have to go kill them. WHy wait to kill Karzai in 20 years, be done with him now and get our men and women out of there.
This country is a joke. We need to get out and leave the people to fend for themselves. If they don't want our help, money, and support then we should take it all and tell them "have fun". The U.S. getting involved with anyother country militarly is crazy. We should be using our technolgy to develope things that protect us that way we don't have to be there. We should also have our troops on the border ending this war that the border states fight everyday. Let the middle east continue to be the middle east and that is a desert with no people worth saving. They have killed eachother for thousands of years and will continue to do so. This soldier should be prosecuted, but in reality he only did what would have been an enevitable fate for those people.
who gives a damn what karzai says......pull out and pull the money and he is gone in 24 hrs.........
The Afgans are fed up with this war. A large portion of the US population is fed up with this war and what it is costing us in the lives of our soldiers and treasure, that could be better spent here in the US.
Tell the Afganistan government that if those (past, present, or future) trouble makers create any problems that impact anyone other than those within Afganistan, Afganistan will be reduced to a sheet of glass. Make it perfectly clear what this means and get their signoff on this.
This was a tragic event but it can and does happen all the time during war. It's time for us to bring our troops home. We are not wanted there, and from this point forward, nothing good will come of staying.