Former Afghanistan president denounces bombing by U.S.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — The U. S. milit ar y ’s use of the most powerful conventional bomb in its arsenal on an Islamic State cave complex in Afghanistan has stirred up political trouble for the Afghan government, as former President Hamid Karzai on Saturday called his successor “a traitor” and declared that he wanted the Americans gone from the country.
In an interview hours after he said he intended to work toward “ousting the U.S.,” a fuming Karzai said there was no justifification for the United States to drop the powerful bomb in Afghanistan. The weapon, the GBU43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, is referred to as the “mother of all bombs.”
He accused the U.S. military of using the presence of Islamic St ate milit ants to turn his country into a laborator y for test i ng i t s weapons.
Karzai called President Ashraf Ghani’s government an “accomplice” that allowed and welcomed the use of the bomb. Ghani’s government had said the attack, which was said to have killed more than 90 militants and destroyed three large caves in Nangarhar province, was coordinated with the United States.
“Shame on him for saying that, shame, shame,” Karzai said. “No Afghan with self-respect would do that.” He added, “He is a traitor, a traitor.”
A spokesman for Ghani would not address Karzai’s harsh words directly. But Ghani’s offiffice put out a brief post on Twitter, clearly aimed at Karzai: “Every Afghan has the right to speak their mind. This is a country of free speech.”
The uproar over the bombing and its meanings came as H.R. McMaster, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, arrived in Kabul on Saturday for consultations with Afghan leaders as the new administration reviews its Afghanistan policy.
Afghan and U.S. military offifficials described the bomb’s use as a battlefifield necessity for the destruction of the Islamic State cave complex and the success of military operations. Four ground operations in the area, supported by regular, smaller airstrikes, had proved futile, they said. There have been no signs yet that the bombing caused any civilian casualties.
Other Afghan politicians have been more restrained a bout t hei r v i ews of t he U. S.bombing, with some opposed to it and others saying they supported it.
Amin Karim, the spokesman for the main faction of Hezb-e-Islami, a conservative Islamist party with links to the insurgency, said members of his party disagreed with the strike because they believed it was carried out for American domestic political reasons and as a way to send a message to other countries at odds with the United States, rather than strictly to fifight terrorism in Afghanistan.