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| Hamid Karzai (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Ankit Panda
Hamid Karzai’s reluctance to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) is irresponsible and could have consequences.
Hamid Karzai’s intransigence over the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States has deeply frustrated and infuriated many Americans who see him as somewhat of an ingrate after a war that drained U.S. coffers and spirits over the course of 13 years.
From a national interest perspective, the deal makes perfect sense for the Afghan central government. The United States effectively propped up the Karzai regime since the Bonn conference and is now bending over backwards, offering to hang around after the general withdrawal of coalition troops and train Afghan security forces and even conduct counter-terrorism operations. All this is being offered by the Obama administration against a backdrop of relative political disinterest and derision back home – over 2,000 American lives and over half a trillion dollars were lost in Afghanistan.
However, Karzai’s game isn’t national interest – at least not entirely. Karzai, who is approaching the twilight of career as Afghanistan’s president, craves relevance after Afghanistan’s elections in 2014. This desire for relevance and post-election influence necessitates that Karzai entrench favor among his Pashtun supporters by proudly resisting American demands, at least on first glance.
Read the full story at The Diplomat