President Obama called Afghan President Hamid Karzai this morning and “agreed to discuss” the possibility of withdrawing American forces from Afghan villages and confining them to their bases.
The presidents “discussed President Karzai’s recent reiteration of his longstanding concerns regarding night raids and house searches and recommitted to conclude ongoing negotiations on a Memorandum of Understanding to resolve those concerns,” according to the readout from the White House Press Office. “They also agreed to further discuss concerns voiced by President Karzai about the presence of foreign troops in Afghan villages.”
Karzai called for all coalition forces to “be withdrawn from villages and relocated in their bases” after an American soldier killed 16 Afghans last Sunday. “Afghanistan is ready to take overall security responsibility,” read a statement from Karzai’s office.
The relationship between United States and Afghan forces has deteriorated over recent weeks, as Afghan supposed allies murdered US soldiers after the incidental burning of Korans at Bagram Air Force Base was dicsovered. Seven American soldiers have been killed by Afghan forces in the last 6 weeks.
