NATO's Afghan strategy tested as Taliban talks derail, Karzai demands troop pullback
鈥� A daily summary of global reports on security issues.
NATO鈥檚 strategy for Afghanistan was upended yesterday by the聽derailment of talks with the Taliban and the almost simultaneous聽demand from Afghan President Hamid Karzai that coalition troops leave village outposts and concentrate their presence on major military bases.聽
A senior Western diplomat told The Guardian, 鈥淚鈥檓 really shocked, these are two pieces of very bad news 鈥� It鈥檚 probably the .鈥�
The two developments come after a couple of very difficult weeks for the coalition: First, there was severe fallout from the accidental burning of several Qurans on NATO airbase; and this week, there were several protests following the shooting of 16 Afghan civilians by a US soldier.
If NATO agrees to Mr. Karzai鈥檚 demand, 鈥渋t would spell the end for the current coalition military approach, which aims to push out insurgents and win over the civilian population village by village,鈥� the Guardian reports. But the Obama administration 鈥渞ebuffed鈥� Karzai鈥檚 demands, and White House spokesman Jay Carney said there were no plans to change the current strategy.
The Los Angeles Times painted the demands as , although they are a worrying indicator about Afghan attitudes toward NATO.
In practical terms, both developments might prove largely symbolic. Karzai does not have the power to enforce specific demands as to where Western troops are deployed, and U.S. contacts with the Taliban were in the very early stages.
However, taken together, the moves point to a rapidly souring mood on the part of two major players in the conflict and to a growing sense of disarray in the American-led coalition's plans to find a way out of this decade-old war.
More on the rogue US soldier
Meanwhile, a sketch is emerging of the soldier who left his base in Kandahar and shot 16 civilians in their homes earlier this week. Although he was on his first tour in Afghanistan, it was his fourth military tour since 2001. He did three previous tours in Iraq and was injured twice. He did not want to go to Afghanistan, and his brigade was initially told it聽, his lawyer said yesterday, according to Associated Press.
While in Iraq, the soldier was in a car accident caused by a roadside bomb and was injured in a battle, requiring him to have part of his foot removed, lawyer John Henry Browne said. The soldier was apparently screened by health workers for a head injury from the car accident before redeploying in December. The day before the shooting, he saw a friend鈥檚 leg get blown off, the soldier鈥檚 family told Mr. Browne.
An unnamed senior US official told The New York Times that the soldier had been the night of the shooting. 鈥淲hen it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol, and domestic issues 鈥� he just snapped,鈥� the official said, who was briefed on the case but could not speak on record because the soldier hasn鈥檛 been charged.
Browne disputed allegations that the suspect, who is married and has two young children, was drinking at the time of the shooting and that stress and/or marital issues caused him to 鈥渟nap,鈥� according to AP. He has a 鈥渇abulous鈥� marriage, Browne said. His family was 鈥渢otally shocked. 鈥� He's never said anything antagonistic about Muslims. He's in general very mild-mannered."
鈥淭he government is going to want to blame this on an individual rather than blame it on the war,鈥� Browne said as he dismissed claims of stress and drinking, according to the Times. He 聽said the soldier had 鈥渂een decorated many, many times鈥� and was a 鈥渃areer military man.鈥�
Browne鈥檚 previous clients include the serial killer Ted Bundy 补苍诲听Colton Harris-Moore, the 鈥淏arefoot Bandit,鈥� according to AP.
The soldier is expected to be where he is being held on a US base, to a base in the US after protest from the Kuwait government, which was not told in advance that the soldier was being brought to the country, The Telegraph reports.
