Hamid Karzai Says Afghanistan Has Turned The Corner

Hamid Karzai Says Afghanistan Has Turned The Corner

As the end of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s visit in the U.S. approached he addressed the issue of immunity for U.S. troops in the only interview he granted during his stay.

Hamid Karzai said that the Afghan people will most likely agree to the idea of immunity for any U.S. troops that remain in Afghanistan after the 2014 withdrawal.

“I can tell you with relatively good confidence that they will say ‘alright, let’s do it’ … And I’m sure they will understand” said President Karzai when asked about the response the Afghan public will have to the immunity question.

In the final press conference held by the two heads of state President Barack Obama said that he had stressed the immunity matter to Karzai, and said that the U.S. has an agreement of this nature with every country it has troops in.

The same deal was rejected by the Iraqi government, motivating the full withdrawal of U.S. troops in December 2011.

In the same interview Hamid Karzai said that Afghanistan has turned a corner and that a “critical mass” of educated Afghani citizens realize the country’s need for stability and progress.

Hamid Karzai also said that he doesn't think that the Taliban presence has enough power to ever threaten Afghanistan and that most of them have also understood the nations need for stability.

Posted by James Fried on Monday January 14 2013, 2:51 AM EST. Ref: CNN. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0