Islam Times - Ex-Afghan president tried to distance away form US

Islam Times - A prominent political analyst says former Afghan President Hamid Karzai constantly tried to distance himself away from the United States during the latter part of his presidency.

Wayne Madsen made the remark during an interview.

“In the latter part of his term, Karzai started to talk about Afghanistan’s joining the counter-NATO organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This was an attempt by Karzai to wane Afghanistan away from this current relationship. That doesn’t play very well for Washington,” Madsen said.

Madsen noted that Karzai also refused to sign a bilateral security agreement (BSA) with the US despite constant pressure by Washington.

The remarks come as Karzai, in his farewell speech on Monday, blamed both the United States and Pakistan for the continuing Taliban-led militancy and warned the new government to be extra cautious in relations with the US and the West.

On Monday, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was sworn in as Afghanistan’s new president, following a long dispute over the final results of the country’s presidential election. Ghani was named president-elect after he reached a US-brokered power-sharing deal with his rival Abdullah Abdullah in the June run-off vote following months of political wrangling.

Madsen said the power-sharing government in Afghanistan does not ensure that the animosity between former presidential rivals won’t carry over for future.

Madsen also emphasized that the US authorities and military generals would continue to exercise their influence on the new Afghan administration.

The analyst also warned that the US intends to keep its private security contractors, who do not abide by any rule and have been widely involved in the killing of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The United States and its allies attacked Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. About 150,000 US-led NATO forces at the height of occupation were unable to defeat the Taliban in more than 12 years there.