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Afghan tribes back U.S. partnership
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-09 08:58

Hundreds of tribal leaders backed President Hamid Karzai's plan for a "strategic partnership" with the United States on Sunday, a government spokesman said, a pact that could cement a long-term U.S. military presence in Central Asia.

More than 1,000 elders and officials from across Afghanistan met with Karzai in the presidential palace in Kabul on Sunday for consultations on the plan, spokesman Jawed Ludin said.

"Our finding from today's discussion was that people are, on the whole, very positive about this," Ludin said at a news conference, adding that only one person had spoken against the plan. Ludin didn't describe the man's objections.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai talks to members of the Loya Jirga, or traditional grand council, in Kabul May 8, 2005. Karzai summoned hundreds of representatives from across Afghanistan for talks that will include the sensitive issue of a strategic partnership with the United States. [Reuters]

Karzai would likely talk about the partnership, which Afghan officials say must cover economic and political links as well as military aid, in a meeting with President Bush in Washington later this month, the spokesman said.

Discussions, begun several months ago, were entering "a more formal phase," Ludin said.

About 17,000 American soldiers are in Afghanistan pursuing al-Qaida rebels and militant followers of the ousted Taliban government. A separate NATO-led force has about 8,500 troops in the capital and across the north and west.

American commanders have said they expect to have forces in the country, which borders Iran, nuclear-armed Pakistan and oil-rich Central Asia, for many years to come. But Washington and Kabul have no treaty to govern their stay beyond Operation Enduring Freedom, America's war on terrorism.

Afghan members of the Loya Jirga, traditional grand assembly, gather to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, May 8, 2005. [AP]

Ludin said the government wanted U.S. as well as NATO troops to remain in Afghanistan until Afghan government forces are able to take their place.

The new Afghan army, trained mainly by the United States, Britain and France, was expected to reach its full strength of 70,000 in September next year, although Afghan defense officials insist even that is far too small to defend the country.

Afghan officials say the United Nations, which has piloted the country's course toward democracy, also should stay on when its mission expires with parliamentary elections in September.

Ludin said delegates at Sunday's meeting put more emphasis on economic support than military aid and expressed concern about the heavy-handed style of U.S.-led operations, which have killed several civilians this year.

He said the Afghan government was seeking an agreement that went far beyond long-term foreign military bases.

"Afghanistan needs a commitment from the United States. We want them to help in all these sectors until Afghanistan can stand on its own feet," Ludin said.

The new parliament would have the final word on any treaties, he said.

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