Afghanistan and U.S. agree on strategic pact text

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

By Rob Taylor

KABUL | Sun Apr 22, 2012 6:21pm EDT

(Reuters) - Afghanistan and the United States on Sunday agreed on a draft of a long-awaited deal that will define the scope and nature of a U.S. presence in the country for up to a decade after the pullout of most NATO combat troops in 2014.

The U.S. Ambassador to Kabul, Ryan Crocker, and Afghan national security adviser, Rangin Spanta, initialed copies of the agreement, paving the way for President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, to review it.

"After much hard work together, we are pleased that we are close to completing negotiations on (the) Strategic Partnership," a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Kabul told Reuters.

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The deal, under negotiation now for more than nine months, comes at a time when relations between Washington and Kabul remain badly strained by a number of incidents involving U.S. soldiers that have infuriated public opinion.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/22/us-afghanistan-agreement-idUSBRE83L07S20120422

[dipsydoodle]

1. US to defend Afghanistan for decade after drawdown

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Washington has pledged in a newly agreed strategic pact to help defend Afghanistan militarily for at least a decade after the country formally takes control of its own security, an Afghan official said Monday.

The draft agreement signed on Sunday also says the U.S. will only take such actions with Afghan agreement. The United States also pledged it will not launch attacks on other countries from Afghan soil, according to sections of the accord read out in parliament by Afghan National Security Adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta.

Afghan officials had previously said that they would not allow their country to be used to launch drone attacks into Pakistan or other neighboring countries after the deadline for most foreign forces to withdraw by the end of 2014.

"Considering that stability in Afghanistan would be stability for Central Asia and South Asia, the United States emphasizes that any kind of interference in Afghan affairs would be a matter of concern for the United States," he said, quoting from the Dari language version of the agreement.

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