Crisis averted? Afghanistan, US sign security pact
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Afghanistan and the United States signed a long-delayed security pact Tuesday, ensuring that American troops can stay in the country after the end of the year, in the first major step of newly inaugurated President Ashraf Ghani.
The Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) was signed by US Ambassador James Cunningham and Afghanistan鈥檚 National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar, in , Reuters reports.
Under the agreement, up to聽 after the end of combat operations this year, to help train and advise Afghan military and police forces. A separate pact also signed with NATO Tuesday allows for a small force of roughly 3,000 international troops.
The signing of the security arrangements comes a day after Mr. Ghani was sworn in as Afghanistan鈥檚 second president and signals his desire to reset ties with the US after his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, angered Washington by refusing to ink the agreement.聽
Mr. Karzai 鈥� by聽refusing to sign the security deal聽with Washington even after it had been approved by the Loya Jirga gathering of local representatives in November,鈥� of 2013, the Wall Street Journal writes.
Mr. Karzai, whose ties with the West had soured in recent years, said the agreements would undermine chances for peace with the Taliban, who remain a formidable threat to the central government.聽
Both Ghani and his campaign opponent Abdullah Abdullah had promised to sign the BSA as a first priority in office. The bitterly disputed and drawn-out election, results of which were delayed due to Mr. Abdullah鈥檚 accusations of mass fraud, had raised fears that no new president would be in place to sign the deal.聽
The signing of the security pacts was also a precondition to the continued dispersement of foreign aid. Afghanistan government is hugely reliant on foreign aid 鈥� a World Bank study in May found that in the year to Sept. 30, 2011, , the Economist notes.聽
The security agreements 鈥渁re directly linked to the continued delivery of billions of dollars in aid that the Afghan government and its armed forces need to survive," The Wall Street Journal writes.聽
Under President Obama鈥檚 timeline, US forces in Afghanistan will and withdraw nearly completely by the end of 2016, with a small contingent left in a 鈥渟ecurity office,鈥� the BBC and the Associated Press report.聽
The BSA will also allow the US military to , The Washington Post reports.聽
US forces are helping train Afghanistan鈥檚 350,000-person military and police force, 鈥渨hich shoulders most of the fighting already,鈥� the Journal explains:聽
Afghan troops, however, still need foreign help as they lack crucial capabilities in areas including aerial reconnaissance, close air support and logistics.
The U.S.-led coalition, known as the International Security Assistance Force, already is preparing for the new mission, called "Resolute Support." The number of foreign troops in Afghanistan has rapidly shrunk in recent years. The coalition is down to 33 bases that house some 37,000 foreign troops, from the roughly 800 bases it operated at the peak of President聽's surge in 2010-2011.
The agreement comes amid increased Taliban activity. The Taliban "have taken advantage of the paralysis in Kabul to launch attacks in an attempt [to] regain strategic territory in provinces such as Helmand in the south and Kunduz in the north," Reuters reports.
The Taliban have denounced the pact with the United States and repeated that on Tuesday, calling it a "sinister" plot by the United States to control聽聽and restore its international credibility as a military super power.聽
