Kabul attacks a ‘failure’ of NATO, Karzai says
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Monday that a co-ordinated Taliban attack showed a “failure” by Afghan intelligence and especially by NATO, as heavy street fighting between insurgents and security forces came to an end after 18 hours. Battles that broke out on midday Sunday gripped the central districts through the night, with large explosions and gunfire lighting up alleys and streets.
“The fact terrorists were able to enter Kabul and other provinces was an intelligence failure for us and especially for NATO,” Karzai’s office said.
Though the death toll was relatively low considering the scale of the assault, it highlighted the ability of militants to strike high-profile targets in the heart of the city even after more than 10 years of war.
Karzai echoed his Western backers by praising Afghan security forces, saying they had proven their ability to defend their country — a task that will increasingly fall to them as foreign armies reduce their troop numbers in Afghanistan. Yet the Afghan leader’s comments underscored abiding divisions between the Afghan government and the U.S.
Defense Department spokesman George Little said the Pentagon did not believe there had been an intelligence failure. “If we’re held to the standard to have to know precisely when and where each insurgent attack is going to occur, I think that’s an unfair standard. This is a war zone.”
The attacks mark another election-year setback in Afghanistan for President Barack Obama, who wants to present the campaign against the Taliban as a success before the departure of most foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.