Karzai wants foreign troops out within five years

What they are saying about the Afghan president’s second-term inauguration

LAST UPDATED 9:20 AM, NOVEMBER 19, 2009

Under tight security at his fortified palace in Kabul, with the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, British Foreign Minister David Miliband and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton but no President Barack Obama in attendance, Hamid Karzai was inaugurated this morning for a second term as President of Afghanistan.

Responding to demands from the West, Karzai used his speech to promise a national forum to discuss the age-old problem of corruption at all levels of government. He also said he wanted to decrease the number of international troops, with the target of having the country's security in Afghan hands within five years.

The ceremony came as Obama was promising the American media that he was "very close" to reaching a decision on whether to send 40,000 extra troops to the country. "I will announce that decision certainly in the next several weeks," Obama told CNN after leaving China for South Korea.

It is now approaching three months since Obama's military commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, first wrote to US defence secretary Robert Gates asking for the extra troops - and warned that the mission would fail without them.

The key reason why Obama is having such trouble making up his mind is because the White House distrusts Karzai as a reliable ally,

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This campaign was doomed to failure before it started, no clear aim as troops fight terrorists whose view of death is so different from that of the allies. We have an Afghan President who made his way to the top by the third-world accepted process of 'rigorendum' where the dead vote, the honest don't and the dishonest do many times and under many names. So, Mr Karzai wants a decrease in international troops within five years? Well, let's give him his wish and pull out immediately to stop wasting good British and others' lives on the dustbowl of Afghanistan where history has already proven no Western army has ever been successful. [I was tempted to slate the American part in starting this ill-conceived war but their blokes are dying needlessly also, so no negative comment made]

Posted by Paul Beaumont at 10:16am on November 19, 2009

I see no reason of president Obama attending the inauguration of Karzai, after all they are a corrupt bunch,(the Afghan gvt), he has better pressing issues to attend to, it was even more than enough, the presence of the secretary of state.

Posted by Majahamahle Ndlovu at 11:10am on November 19, 2009

It was only a few years ago that the US was funding the Taliban to fight the Russians on their behalf. Clearly neither Bush nor Blair did history. I imagine Putin is very happy with the damage being done to america's image and to their economy as well as the UK's. Time for a tactical withdrawal.

Posted by Peter at 11:13am on November 19, 2009

"Under tight security at his fortified palace in Kabul, with the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, British Foreign Minister David Miliband and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton". As if there was a better cabal of mealy mouthed bunch of rogues and hypocrites gathered under one roof. Not one of them can claim to to be genuinely interested in the welfare of the natives except to partake in shenanigans for lining their own pockets and to appear that they have saved face for their misplaced ideas. Hate to rave on, but these people have no concept of what pain they cause people who have no voice and don't really care. The amount of money wasted in these so called wars could have fixed half the worlds problems had the parties understood that what the world needs is simple honesty and justice and that even the downtrodden have a story to tell. America and Britain may be the most advanced technologically but they lack simple understanding of the human spirit. They should have learned lessons from their unjust exploits everywhere in the world and humiliation by little people with bamboo sticks. Afghanistan has been made a hell-hole by the greed of outside powers throughout history and the people of Afghanistan have always paid dearly. Nothing is going to change with these 4 thugs in the same room.

Posted by mashoud janjua at 3:48pm on November 19, 2009

All of the troops should be pulled out of that country and let them sort themselves out. It is a corrupt government and tribal leaders will never agree to give up their stranglehold using drugs as there big money earner. Why spill another drop of blood of our troops to satisfy a diplomatic nightmare dealing with a dictater who cheated his way into power.

Posted by Yosser at 3:48pm on November 19, 2009

A witless war launched by yankee-doodle scum.

Posted by Neil McGowan at 6:46pm on November 19, 2009