Afghan experts in the U.S. suggested that Karzai might be trying to pressure the U.S. into making more concessions. His move also could be his attempt to avoid taking personal responsibility for an agreement that Afghans might see as selling out to foreign interests. Karzai hinted that asking for the deferral could be personal—that neither he nor the U.S. trust each other and that it would be better if someone else put pen to paper.
“It all turns to trust, and between me and America, there is not very good trust,” Karzai told the elders on Thursday. “I don't trust them and they don't trust me. The last 10 years has shown this to me. I have had fights with them and they have had propaganda against me.”
Whatever the reason, the Obama administration pushed back. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters on his plane flying to Halifax that Karzai's move “puts the United States in a very, very difficult position.”
“Until we get that BSA (bilateral security agreement), we can't do any more than train and it really needs to be done by the end of this year,” Hagel told reporters.
The agreement is set to remain in force until the end of 2024 and beyond, unless terminated by mutual agreement or by either party with two years' written notice. The agreement was designed to give some U.S. forces the legal right to remain in the country after the NATO-led mission concludes in December 2014, and to pledge U.S. backing for Afghanistan and its security forces for many years to come.
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