[HCCN] New Pledges for Ties with Afghanistan

[Judith Robbins]

The United States invaded Afghanistan 9 years ago. How can the  
Secretary of State now be talking about *an essential first step...*


...While improving security is "an essential first step" in  
Afghanistan, Clinton said....




Published on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 by Agence France Presse
US, Karzai Pledge Enduring Ties, Map Out 'Shared Future'
WASHINGTON - The United States and Afghanistan pledged Tuesday to  
forge ties that will outlast the withdrawal of US combat forces but  
raised mutual fears over Afghan government corruption and civilian  
casualties.




US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Afghan President Hamid  
Karzai arrive for the opening of the US-Afghanistan bilateral  
discussions May 11 in Washington. (AFP/Mandel Ngan)
On the second of his four-day, red-carpet visit, Afghan President  
Hamid Karzai sat down with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and  
their high-level teams to map out what the chief US diplomat called  
their "shared" future.

Senior officials from both sides later opened broad-ranging talks  
that included boosting agriculture, fighting drug trafficking and  
training the Afghan army and police.

The visit comes as the US military gears up for a crucial stage of  
President Barack Obama's strategy to surge 30,000 extra troops into  
Afghanistan, in a bid to defeat the Taliban and allow US forces to  
start coming home next year.

"Let me be clear: As we look toward a responsible, orderly transition  
in the international combat mission in Afghanistan, we will not  
abandon the Afghan people," Clinton said as she sat next to Karzai.

"Our civilian commitment will remain long into the future," she told  
US and Afghan ministers seated at a U-shaped table in a chandeliered  
room of the State Department.

Overlooking his public spats with Washington over charges of  
corruption and vote-rigging in last year's elections, Karzai said his  
country will not forget US contributions and sacrifices in Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan is known around the world for being a country that  
remembers a friend -- and for long. And that assurance I can give you  
on behalf of the Afghan people, Madame Secretary," the Afghan leader  
said.

The pair's remarks set the tone for a day-long series of meetings of  
ministers aimed at cementing a US-Afghan relationship that has shown  
many cracks in the first year of the Obama administration.

Both Clinton and Karzai anticipated further US-Afghan disagreements  
but said they would only underline the maturity and steadfastness of  
the relationship.

The pair touched on some sore points, with Clinton referring to  
corruption -- which US officials worry is eroding the public's  
support for Karzai's government -- and Karzai urging international  
forces to protect civilians.

While improving security is "an essential first step" in Afghanistan,  
Clinton said, long-term stability depends on economic development and  
good governance, which includes fighting corruption.

"I appreciate President Karzai's steps to fight corruption," she said.

Despite promising to deal with endemic corruption when he took office  
for five more years in November, Karzai is widely considered to have  
taken little action other than blaming donor nations for lax  
supervision of pledged aid.

And his government said Tuesday it had dissolved 152 Afghan and 20  
international aid organizations, some for misconduct.

Karzai also raised his government's demands for a better relationship.

"Afghanistan will seek respect for its judicial independence.  
Afghanistan will be seeking protection for its civilian population,"  
said the Afghan leader, wearing his trademark cap and robes.

"I am very thankful to General (Stanley) McChrystal for the effort  
that he is putting in for the protection of Afghan civilians, with  
results," he said, as McChrystal, the leader of US forces in  
Afghanistan, looked on.

He expressed appreciation that when Afghan civilians have been  
mistakenly killed by US or NATO firepower, the US commander has  
called him immediately to apologize for the deaths.

"But as we all understand well, we must be working very hard to  
prevent completely and incompletely, to the extent possible for us,  
these possibilities of casualties and the consequences that it has  
for us all," he said.

Karzai is also expected to press for greater support for plans to  
integrate Taliban insurgents -- over which Washington has expressed  
some misgivings.

Karzai promised that his government would assume its responsibilities  
in developing Afghanistan so that his war-torn country "is no longer  
a burden on your shoulders."

Scheduled for Wednesday are a tete-a-tete meeting with Obama and a  
dinner hosted by Vice President Joe Biden.

In a gesture that could play well with the US public, Karzai will  
visit Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday to pay tribute to US  
war dead.

© 2010 AFP
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