Afghanistan demand takes US military by surprise – officials
Move could further complicate Us-afghan talks
WASHINGTON, Feb 26, (Agencies): Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s demand that US special forces leave a flashpoint province came as a surprise to American commanders, who had no advance warning of the order, officials said Monday.
It remained unclear what led Karzai to issue a blunt announcement that US special operations force would have two weeks to withdraw from Wardak, a key province southwest of the capital Kabul, two US officials said.
“We’re not aware of any incident that would have generated this kind of response,” one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
In his statement Sunday, Karzai alleged that Afghans working with US forces had tortured and murdered people targeted in Wardak, triggering local outrage.
The Pentagon confirmed that a special panel of Afghan officials and officers from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Fore (ISAF) are looking into Karzai’s allegations.
“There has been a joint commission established by ISAF and the government of Afghanistan to look into the issues that surfaced over the weekend,” spokesman George Little told reporters.
“We’re trying to seek clarity from the government of Afghanistan.”
Asked if the United States would withdraw its elite special operations units from the province, Little said: “It’s premature to speculate on what the outcome of what our discussions would be.”
Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking at a joint press conference with his British counterpart William Hague in London, said he had taken “appropriate note” of the Afghan complaints which would be “evaluated” by ISAF. Legitimate Karzai had “had many legitimate evaluations of how sometimes some things have gone or might be changed and be done better. We’re working on that.
“I can assure you we are finely tuned to the needs of the Afghan people and to the most effective ways to make this transition together,” Kerry added.
The move could further complicate talks between the United States and Afghanistan over the presence of American troops in the country once most NATO forces leave by the end of 2014.
“With respect to Afghanistan and Wardak province, I understand the concerns that they have expressed. And appropriately, any complaints that they may have ought to be appropriately evaluated, and they will be, I can assure you,” Kerry told reporters during a visit to London.
Kerry said it was up to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to investigate. On Sunday ISAF said it was aware of the allegations of misconduct but would not comment further until it had spoken to Afghan officials.
In Washington, a US defense official said no ISAF troops themselves were involved in any misconduct, as earlier Afghan statements had alleged.
“In recent months, a thorough review in cooperation with the Defense Ministry and National Directorate of Security has confirmed that no coalition forces have been involved in the alleged misconduct in Wardak province,” the official said.