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S. Sabawoon/EPA
Afghan security officials inspect the scene of a suicide bomb attack outside the Afghan Defense Ministry Saturday. Hamid Karzai suggested the Taliban and U.S. colluded over the attack in order to persuade people that foreign forces had to stay in the country.
KABUL — The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan has warned that President Hamid Karzai is putting the lives of Western troops in danger with his anti-American rhetoric.
A leaked, confidential memo sent by General Joseph Dunford to officers in Afghanistan said recent comments by Karzai could be "a catalyst for some to lash out against our forces."
Dunford said Karzai’s "inflammatory speech" about the controversial Bagram Prison could prompt members of Afghan government forces to stage insider attacks on American troops and other Western allies.
And he warned that the Afghan president himself "may also issue orders that put our forces at risk."
The New York Times, which first reported the emailed memo, said it was sent Wednesday after Karzai warned on Tuesday that his forces might seize control of Bagram from the U.S.
The facility was supposed to have been transferred on Saturday, but the deal collapsed at the last minute after Karzai objected to a clause allowing the U.S. to have final say over who were considered “high-value” prisoners and whether they would have to stay in prison.
Dunford admitted that Afghanistan and the U.S. were "at a rough point in the relationship."
And he warned that the Taliban and other insurgent groups would be "watching and will look for a way to exploit the situation — they have already ramped up for the spring."
'Vigilance'
Col. Thomas Collins, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, confirmed that Dunford’s memo was not intended for public consumption and had been leaked.
Rahmat Gul / AP
More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.
He said the memo was an informal email sent "to his subordinate commanders to outline his view of what is going on in the country, in light of recent attacks."
"ISAF routinely conducts assessments and adapts its protection posture to ensure our forces are prepared to meet potential threats and that they have a common understanding of the situation here in Afghanistan," Collins said in an email. "This advisory was prudent given increased Coalition casualties in recent days. General Dunford's email is simply an example of this vigilance."
Two U.S. service members were killed and at least eight others injured on Monday in what officials described as a possible insider attack at a Special Forces operations outpost in Wardak province, eastern Afghanistan. Three Afghans also died.
Last month, Karzai ordered all U.S. special forces to leave Wardak province. A spokesman for the Afghan president said in a statement that "armed individuals named as U.S. special forces stationed in Wardak province engage in harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people."
On Sunday, Karzai accused the United States and the Taliban of colluding to convince Afghans that foreign forces needed to stay in the country after 2014, when NATO is due to withdraw most of its troops.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel responds to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's statements in which Karzai accused the U.S. and Taliban with working together.
"Those bombs that went off in Kabul and Khost [on Saturday] 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," Karzai said in a speech reported by Reuters. "In fact those bombs, set off yesterday in the name of the Taliban, were in the service of Americans to keep foreigners longer in Afghanistan."
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the two bomb attacks, which killed 17 people.
Karzai’s comments marred a visit by newly appointed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s trip to Afghanistan.
Hagel dismissed the remarks, telling reporters it “wouldn’t make a lot of sense” for the United States and Taliban to conspire together.
And Dunford told reporters traveling with Hagel that "we have shed too much blood over the past 12 years … to ever think that violence or instability would be to our advantage."
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related:
War of words erupts in Afghanistan over 2014 US troop pullout
Karzai accuses U.S. and Taliban of conspiring to keep troops in Afghanistan
Karzai, alleging torture, orders US forces out of key province
Leave a Comment:
The General is correct. It seems impossible to understand Karzai's direction or policies.
Choice one. Bring our troops home.
Choice two. End any alliance with and financial and military support for the Karzai government, and forget about joint activities with their troops.
Choice #3, end U.S. protection and let the real Taliban get him to see a roasted weinee hanging from a bridge in the morning........
Karzai has just now intentionally put American soldiers lives in more danger than ever before. He just declared open season on all allied forces in that country. It's time to give him what he wants. Absolute control over his country. However long that will last!
The increasing level of reform and liberalization of the country would threaten Karzai's hold on power, plus he needs to distract away from the growing evidence of his own corruption, kleptocracy, and his family members' corruption in the government. He feels he has what he wants and doesn't need US forces anymore so he can make them the scapegoat and common enemy. In the long run it will backfire in his face, but as is typical of tin pot dictator wannabes, he just doesn't realize nor care.
Time to send another "envoy" to Afghanistan to "broker Peace".
Wait a minute......
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When U.S. forces pull out, make sure every piece of the $ 84,000,000,000 equipment left behind is up in smoke.
Better yet lets put a bullet in this ingrates head
Past time to take this POS out to the woodshed and explain things to him, better yet seize his Dubai bank account.
Yes the General is right but also only giving a half true, our "guy" is also putting our son's and daughter's lives a risk. Bring them home now.
Take off, and nuke them from orbit. It is the only way to be sure.
We should have been out of there years ago. If there are no Americans over there then they won't be in danger. It's as simple as that. We were obligated to help rid the world of the Taliban since we helped create that monster but after that our mission in Afghanistan was over. Get out and stay out of that @!$%# hole and the problem is solved.
Karzai is two-faced like most of them in that part of the world. Sad, but very true. They are your friend one day and your enemy the very next. I don't think we can leave there soon enough. He'll wish in the long run that we had stayed. It is still time for us to leave way overdue in my opinion.
Well what the HELL are We waiting for, We should pack our sh_t up and leave and NO more money to these people, that's the only reason they are playing to be our friends, Obama or whom ever has the say needs to say FU_K THE HELL OFF already.
I don't see the problem. Pack up our stuff and bring the troops home. Blow up and burn whatever we can't tote outa there. Donate the meds and food to the hospitals and orphanages. Then get out. Should done this years ago
Karzai is corrupt, he has been for many years. We needed to get out of Afghanistan many years ago. It is costing the US too much in American Lives and money. Pull out of this decrepit Country and let them collapse into Civil War. They will anyway.
Well, BONZAI, Karzai!
Well if you consider how the government caters to the defense industry this could be true. If we have no Afgahnastan to dump all those weapons and money into then these companies stop making their record profits. These companies and individuals from these companies dump tons of cash into the politcal campains of our(their) elected officals. Do you think these officals really care about your sons and daughters, I doubt it.
We need to get the hell out of there and out of all of the middle east. Let them wallow in their own shlt and only deal with them if we need to. Do any of you feel it was better to cut money from SS and medicare but then give over a billion to Morsi? Some look at SS and medicare as entitlement but these seniors have paid into this for years. This current government is just another Enron or ponzi scheme, the ones on top make the money while the ones on the bottom get screwed
We should just leave! We shouldnt be there anyway,....yea, yeah yeah, I know we want their opium, but we can always buy it!
How about we stroll in and take back all the money and equipment we gave to Karzai and see how quickly his tune changes. Lets start with his drug running brother and associates shall we?
ya-su-ma-locka
The general is following the orders of your guy, the "commander says cheese". Anything else could be construed as treason.
I understand that we committed to a certain time frame but suggest that we withdraw to bases and only patrol the perimeter
I saw take our @!$%# and go home. if we can't take it with us, burn it up good so it can't be used.
Option #4
Cut him off, take everything we can from the country so that our costs are paid for and then LEAVE.
Its plane and simple STOP giving them our tax dollars, and make them pay us a tax:) that will help with the whole budget struggle... Republicans get spending cuts the Liberals get more taxes and the American tax payer does not need to support one more social program...
Right now the military is about to buy $480 million worth of aircraft for them, and that is from a foreign country...
We have our own oil now in South Dakota. Between Canada, ourselves, and whatever we can do with new renewable technologies, we are on our way to becoming self-sufficient.
Civilization does not come easy. The West went through a series of increasingly bloody wars before we discovered the need for individual freedom and how to live together. Islam is going through the same 'education.' There's really little we can do to help them, they are going to have to figure it out for themselves. The best we can do is a policy of courteous non-involvement and securing our own borders and our allies, if they want us to.
Karzai wants to make peace with the Taliban thugs, which means letting some of them out of jail.
We don't. It's as simple as that. The rest is just rhetoric.
@David, ssgt usmc (post #1.3)
Your comments are insightful and right on target, the only problem is, why are we still involved in this Bush-Cheney Clusterf*ck?
"... still involved ..."
A back door to and a distraction for Iran. Kandahar and Bastion shouldn't slip away no matter what happens to the north.
Get our troops out or put a bullet in karzai's head.
To hell with him.....GET OUT! He is NOT a friend. NO more MONEY for Karzai!
Hell fire him.
Were it not for the training bases for Al Queda Afghanistan would be of no significance. A Country still in the dark ages. Opium, tribal wars are all they know. Majority illiterate. You buy off an Afghan quicker than you can make peace. Karzai deserves whatever is coming. It is sad that we have spilled the lives of our own on such a people. I hate to lump all Afghans together, but the good are far outnumbered by the bad. We can't continue to pour resources into a Country that will never be a democracy nor be our friend. It is sink or swim and I believe Karzai will sink, if not die once we leave. We should have aided the Russians instead, they saw something we didn't see. Besides, we were the ones who caused the creation of Al Queda.
In Karzai's eyes, he is sitting on top of the world and now that he is I think he truly believes he is beholding to no one despite the billions of dollars pumped into that flea bitten sand trap of a country. He is accusing the U.S. of holding secret talks with the Taliban when in fact he is probably the one doing so. Get our troops out today! No amount of further American blood is worth shedding for this backstabbing ingrate!
Why the Hell are we still there? No more money, no more American soldiers, and take every last piece of American equipment and LEAVE.
The "Exit" sign is just shining bigger and brighter by the day. The sooner we are out, the better. Once we are gone Karzai can run HIS war the way he wants. It is obvious that he does not hold U.S. dollars with the same disrespect he holds U.S. troops. We are not ready to deal with a culture where a man's honor depends on his willingness and ability to harm his neighbor, his complete ownership of his wife, and whether or not he needs to sell his children that day.
There have been some pretty good suggestions, here's one more, Kill Karzai, burn ALL the poppy fields to the ground and leave.
I am with the lets get out now group. Lets not only get out of Afghanistan, lets stop proppping up the Pakistanis also. Both are corrupt regimes that continually take our aid and than spit in our faces. Personally I think our ally Pakistan is much worse - people in that government protected and hid OBL and than when we finally figured it out and took him out they howled. Well F^&* them.
At the same time what is going on withthe Karzai govenrment reminds (and has reminded me for a long time) of what it was like in the 60's and VN - we kept propping up corrupt and inept governments becuse they 'supported' our fight against NVN. We didn't learn than and I am pretty sure we haven;t learned yet.
Looks like he is off his meds. Really. This guy is bi-polar. Scary thought. Can we go home now?
Why are we still in this country?
Can't we just carpet bomb it?
We need to do real time testing of our nuclear weapons anyway.
it's time to leave that hell hole forever.leave it to Cars-Eye to do whatever he chooses with.
Byron, you said that Islam is going through the same "education." Well, I believe you are dead wrong. Islam does NOT BELIEVE in being educated. Countries with that kind of culture and belief system will NEVER empower their citizens. Besides which, regarding simple schooling, if you educate only one-half the population (men only) the country will STILL be 50% illiterate. The following statement will not be popular at all but, here goes---- We should have kept our blasted noses out of Afghanistan when the Soviet Army was there in the 70's. In hindsight, frankly, they would have been better off had the Soviets taken over that country. At least, education would have been "forced" upon ALL of them by the Soviets and they would not be so backward and barbaric today. No matter what else they were, and what we thought of them, the one thing the Soviet Union demanded was that their "citizens" were educated. There, I said it. Afghanistan would have gotten its independence again after the breakup of the Soviet Union, and many women there would then have been educated and to an extent empowered. We were warned at the beginning that this will be another Viet Name for us, but of course, we thought we were smarter. Sad, but true. Now we're are stuck with dealing with a power-mad backstabbing twerp who is kicking us in the teeth. Deja vu. Whenever we "help" countries in the Middle East, we are heroes at the beginning, but become their Western infidels toward the end.
First we should pull all US troops out, then kill Karzai. Drop a bomb and level the @!$%# hole. Then if we have to spend money then we will have just cause. @!$%# them all.
It's time to go, the Afghan political "system" is completely fugazi.
It's way past time to go. OBL's death plus a few months should have been enough, at least according to the reasons we were given for being there in the fist place.
Karzai is just trying to please the Taliban in hope they won't kill him after complete troop withdrawal. He's contemplating living with the Taliban or moving abroad. He'd rather stay president in his own country where his millions afford him lots of power and buying power. The big fish in the small pond theory.
However the Taliban will nix him, maybe even abroad.
First of all, Karzai is whining like a little girl because he didn't get his bag of cash this month. Second, the over/under on his life expectancy after American troops leave is TWENTY MINUTES. (Tip: Bet the Under.)
Trex - nope. Once we pull out and he thinks his life is endanger the US will let him come here, we will give him canctuary (and he will probably loot the Afghan treasury on his way out) . We did that with the leaders of SOuth Viet Nam whats to have taught us not to do it with this clown.
Just in case they have to go to "plan B", Hamid Karzai still owns an estate in Sacramento and his brother owns one in Florida.
The fix is easy - get out now!
Speed up the withdrawl, bring our troops and their equipment home.
Karzai is posturing for the eventual US exit. Only way he can survive without the US is to be an adversary of the US in the eyes of his own people.
You would think people would realize that by now but too many of them buy into the propaganda that tells us that there will be some point that they eschew a thousand years of cultural development, become like us and tattoo an American flag on their chests while sing Yankee Doodle. It's a fantasy.
We shouldn't leave. We should annex half the country, station our equipment safely within it and declare it a no man's land. Anyone crossing the "border" gets shot on sight. And we charge the remaining government half the entire nation's GDP in Opium sales for their protection.
Jeffor - I agree that expecting Afghans to turn into "Americans" is a reach. My problem is that their thousand years of culture has left their society in general lacking some of the basic principles we believe in. Like fairness, honesty and justice. Any sense of these terms are reserved for the local warlord, slave trader, drug runner or corrupt government official. The basic attitude seems the be that if you can't screw somebody else over then you must not be sh*t.
Karzai is a corrupt idiot who only cares about remaining in power to continue his corruption. I wonder if he will remain in Afghanistan after his final presidential term is up? He will run from his beloved country like a scared rabbit the day the U.S. leaves and the Taliban come knocking on his door.
Good Afternoon Todd
Karzai is repeating the same things that Ngo Diem did in Saigon, 1963 - bad mouthing the US commitment. Perhaps Karzai needs a "deal he couldn't refuse", to take a quote from the Godfather Part 1. If not, when the Taliban take back over, Karzai won't stand a chance.
If we pull out, Karzai's lifespan can be measured in nanoseconds, and I could care less.
Then he really did pick up some American values after all.
They don't want us there. GTFO!
1. The Taliban do not have to 'watch' the US-Karzai relationship to gain an advantage for attacks; Karzai is Taliban, and like a good little raghead tells them everything.
2. If you want to put Karzai in his place, everytime he slams the US, take away $100 million. He come into line pretty quick if he can't skim enough off the top.
3. Whats the point of building anything over there...it just falls apart after you finish (if you even get to finish)
4. The US should leave Afghanistan because there is no upside. They will destroy themselves no matter what.
5. The country is no threat to the US; but it is a hiding place for all muslim scum. But then since you've got them all in one place, just nuke 'em.
We should leave the Middle East entirely; it's a pointless, godless area. Its not like their going to stop selling oil.
We really do need to accelerate our withdrawal. We also need to rethink our relationship with this country and make serious decisions on witholding any aid.
We can manage covert special operations inside the country if need be. Beyond intelligence, this country offers nothing to the US nor will it ever repay or be willing to repay our country.
I agree with getting our troops out of there ASAP. However, it is not entirely true that they have nothing we need. Afghanistan contains a significant fraction of the world's supply of rare earth elements (think lithium, for example, as in lithium ion rechargeable batteries), as well as being a rich source of several other valuable minerals. However, the Afghans need to decide for themselves what form of government they want and who they want to run it. If they want to live under the Taliban, that's their business. If they choose to harbor terrorists and their training camps, send over drones off of aircraft carriers, if necessary, to deal with them. I don't have a problem carrying on trade with the Taliban if that's who the Afghans choose to run their government, as long as they adhere to international norms of behavior. If the Afghans do not want to live under the Taliban, and I for one certainly would not, then it is their responsibility, not ours, to take whatever steps necessary to ensure that outcome.
They only allow Chinese mining companies to mine those resources. Our Mining Corporations would employ some locals at least. The Chinese bring in all their own labor. Even cooks and dishwashers. The only ones in Afghanistan gaining anything from those massive deposits of valuable ore, are the Karzai brothers. They are raking in the cash from the Chinese and the U.S. both.
They seem bent on biting the hand that feeds them. Bring them home NOW. WHO NEEDS THIS?
Pull out and leave them to their own devices. Not a single drop more of american blood should be spilled for this ungrateful regime.
No troops, no money. Let them make their own way.
NO MORE Pallettes full of money
How sad that after all these years this is where we're at. It's as though no progress at all has been made.That hell hole is no more secure now than it was when we got there We should adhere to the wisdom of history and just stay out of these countries. If they decide to attack us in some manner we use our technology and send them a very very loud message. No more troops on the ground in countries as backward as Afghanistan. It's time to leave,immediately! Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your service, but it's time to come home.
We should have paid a little more attention to how the Soviets did. Staying out of there should have been obvious, especially since we seem to have no endgame.
Easy solution, let's take our toys and go home. Can't save someone who refuses to save themselves.
No problem, bring our troops home.
It is amazing that our leaders would ignore the consensus of the American people AGAIN !!......BRING THEM HOPE NOW !!!!
When did the politicians in washington ever give a good crap what the American people think? The American people knew from the first day in Afghanistan that it was a mistake, but the politicians were too damned stupid to see it. They were just doing the bidding of their wealthy masters.
Time to come home, now, with all our "stuff," bulldoze any facilities--let the Afghans hurtle into the 10th century on their own, do have sympathy for the women and girls, but Americans come first. 11 years is long enough, shedding blood and treasure--nobody ever wins in Afghanistan, Alexander the Great, the Brits, The Soviets and now us---OUT yesterday!
President Karzi putting US lives at risk ? ......C'mon say it ain't so ! I thought he was our friend .....-_-
The old proverb remains true.... Afghanistan is where empires go to die.
Just ask the Soviets they'll tell ya ...
I think Alexander the Great could attest to that.
And Bush The Younger can also attest to that. Maybe it is time to put the American Empire to bed...
there are many issues with afgan that can no be resolved with this guy calling the shots.
1st. he is too dam high. put down the pipe man....2nd afgan. is full of little tibal comunities with there
own rules, he is doing a real crappy job if even trying to unit them. i my self think this place is a sever lost cause. should pull out put them on notice...if you can't keep extrem muslims from attacking other counties then we will do it.....
Please explain to me why we are still there.
I don't think that is any secret. Anyone with any since knows that idiot leader is a loose cannon whose out to get what he can get while the getting is good. Thank you General for saying what our Dumb Ass Congress has supressed for far to long. All our good service people have been put in harms way far to long and it's just time to get the hell out of there and let them kill each other. You can't have a sucessful military operation run by so many civilians who don't know @!$%# from shinola and each little congressman who stickes his nose into things only creates more problems for the military......
When a previous general told Obama that Karzai is 'unstable and unpredictable' he was relieved of his command. Nothing has changed with Karzai. He does not care that he is putting American lives at risk, because, after all, they are Americans, not Afghans.
All Americans should leave Afghanistan now, and let Karzai deal with the Taliban.
Sooner than later.....
Flexibility may be a term to listen, and to use it well. Go home.
The dogs of war continue to ensure their wars and survival. After many countries went into Afghanistan and failed, we went in anyhow. Does Vietnam ring a bell here? Many counties went in there as well and failed. And then we followed and failed as badly as we are failing here.
I wonder how many wars we would be involved in if we had no congressional members involved that had defense interests in their states?
I have lost all respect for the US Government, but I have to support them because my fellow Americans elected them.
The Coalition will have to replace Karzi with someone else.
How about Obama? We don't need him here.
Ken - Obama did not give us Karzai - Bush the JR did. Obama did not take us into Afghanistan Bush did - and want to know what I thought of that easy after 9/11 with that country hiding and protecting OBL and AL Queda I thought it made sense to go in, unfortunately Bush/CHeney (as well as a lot of others ) failed to recognize that Pakistan was as guilty as Afghanistan they were just politically smarter. If we had truly sicked the hounds of war on AFghanistan and truly went in to win (not gotten diverted by a second trumped up war), and if we had extablished a govt of occupation like we did for a few years in Japan after WWII we might have had a chance to be successful, but no we had to immediately allow the tribes and war lords to set up a governemnt. We stopped knowing how to win wars 65 years ago, since than we only know how to prop up corrupt leaders. Too bad we are afraid to be true world leaders.
Holly, you put it the way it is!!! If you are going to "fight a WAR", a real, honest-to-God war, you do it with boots on the ground, as many as you can muster, not a diddlysquat presence here and there which dances around cultural requirements! Bullcrap on that. Had we sent out trooops in there to take on one job, instead of going into another country trying to find what we knew were drummed up, non-existent "weapons of mass destruction," the Afghans might be better educated today. I would not expect them to become "Americans." I would only expect them to open their eyes to improved living. If any soldier saw a man beating up his wife or another woman or girl/child and pounded the crap out of him each time, he might eventually change his tune. It makes me so angry to see other human beings treated with such demeaning cruelty, lack of love and respect and compassion, I can't see straight.
Plain and simple Mr Karzi here it is if you let the taliban and alquida operate in your country and they again do some thing to the United States we retaliate. Not to just the taliban but to you for allowing them to be citizens of your country. Nothing more nothing less. If they attack us we kill you. Have a good day