Afghan president Hamid Karzai and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a press conference in Kabul on July 7, 2012.
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 12:42 PM EDT,
Sat July 7, 2012
U.S. designates Afghanistan a major ally, creates defense ties
(CNN) -- The United States named Afghanistan a major non-NATO ally Saturday, clearing the way for the two countries to maintain a defense and economic relationship even as American combat troops withdraw.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the designation during a surprise visit to Kabul.
A day after the announcement, she will attend a gathering of international donors in Tokyo who will be asked to pledge financial support for Afghanistan after nearly all U.S.-led NATO troops pull out of the country by the end of 2014.
The relationship is beneficial during the transition as both nations prepare for post-2014, according to Clinton.
"It will open the door to Afghanistan's military to have a greater capacity and broader kind of relationship with the United States, and particularly the United States military," Clinton told reporters in Kabul.
By granting such ally status, it makes Afghanistan eligible to receive military training and assistance, including expediting the sales and leasing of military equipment long after NATO troops leave.
"There are a number of benefits that accrue to countries that have this designation," she said. "They are able to have access to excess defense supplies, for example, and they can be part of certain kinds of training and capacity building."
Allegations: American generals delayed Kabul hospital abuse probe
The United States gave Afghanistan the designation as part of an Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement signed in May by President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai.
Afghanistan joins Japan, Pakistan, Egypt, Israel and Australia, among others, granted major non-NATO ally status by the United States. Unlike NATO allies of the United States, who are bound together by a joint defense pact, there is no mutual defense guarantee as a non-NATO ally.
Clinton made it clear the United States has no intention of abandoning Afghanistan after the troops withdrawal.
"We will continue, of course, to protect Afghanistan from any efforts by insurgents and outsiders to destabilize Afghanistan," she said.
Clinton and Karzai are headed to the meeting Sunday in Tokyo, where private and public donors are expected to pledge nearly $4 billion in aid for reconstruction.
During the news conference, Clinton also hinted at thawing U.S.-Pakistani relations, which were virtually frozen after the killing of Osama bin Laden, U.S. claims that Pakistan failed to crackdown on insurgents conducting cross-border attacks in Afghanistan and Islamabad's demand that Washington apologize for the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in November 2011.
Clinton apologized Tuesday for the killings, prompting Pakistan to allow trucks carrying supplies to NATO troops to cross from Pakistan into Afghanistan for the first time in seven months.
"We were struck by the recent call from Pakistan's parliament that Pakistani territory shall not be used for any kind of attacks on other countries, and all foreign fighters, if found, shall be expelled from Pakistani soil," Clinton said during the news conference.
"So we want to deepen our security cooperation with Pakistan."
Clinton said there would be a meeting on the "ministerial level" between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States at the Tokyo gathering.
The United States has not publicly said how much money it will pledge, though Clinton said Saturday that "of course the United States will be making a substantial commitment."
There are questions, though, about whether private and commercial donors will commit to large handouts without a guarantee that money won't be siphoned off by corruption rampant in Afghanistan.
Clinton told reporters that she was "encouraged by what she was hearing" about financial pledges at the Tokyo meeting, but conceded corruption was a major challenge.
Poverty and corruption are widespread in Afghanistan. It came in 172nd out of 187 countries in the United Nations' 2011 Human Development Index, which ranks nations based on life expectancy, education and living standards.
Questions were raised after the United Nations announced an investigation in June into its Afghanistan development fund that pays the salaries of Afghan police amid allegations of misuse of funds.
"We take seriously any allegations of corruption that involve U.S. funds, and we are working with the United Nations to support the steps they have said they would take to address the concerns raised by donors about allegations of mismanagement of the Law and Order Trust Fund."
Clinton said "mutual accountability would be discussed" at the meeting in Tokyo.
First NATO trucks move into Afghanistan from Pakistan after 7-month closure
Send Comments
Your comments will be added to the article that you write about, so include the article title
Today is
Rewarding Known Corruption and Human Abuses For What Reason???
6 American troops killed in Afghanistan IED attack By the CNN Wire Staff updated 5:32 PM EDT, Sun July 8, 2012
Today, 6 Americans Troops are killed by IED's.
Yesterday, the U.S. and other nations agreed to billions of dollars to support Afghanistan after the U.S. pulls out in 2014, primarily, to ensure that Afghanistan is accepted as a viable nation and not a 3rd world nation of radical islamist that blow stuff up and pour acid on their females who actually desire to learn how to read.
The Facts:
We know that Hamid Karzai is corrupt and has done absolutely nothing for Afghanistan since his first hand shake with former sorry ass President Bush, who did absolutely nothing in Afghanistan for 6 to 7 years.
We know that President Obama took control of Afghanistan and put his personal finger print on it's operation, and the results was adding troops with a specific task and a specific path, with specific to accomplishments and thresholds.
We know that even with Obama's actions, Hamid Karzai hasn't changed with respect to his flip flopping on his position on his countries' radical islamists acts and the U.S. actions. The U.S. idiot military failed leadership have allowed several acts to take place without satisfactory investigations or any degree of top of the chain accountability.
We know that Afghanistan still abuse woman and treat them like dogs that are required to stay in their corner and remain at the beckon call of any male. A travesty that the U.S. turns the other cheek too, but still chastise China about their human rights for.
We know that Afghanistan is decades away from any degree of civility, decades away from any degree of governmental foundation that could be construed as "non-corrupt", decades away from any consideration of equal treatment of woman..., and with all that said, the U.S. and other nations have blessed Afghanistan with their support.
However, there are already cracks in the agreement, in that, conversations regarding some nations possible attempts to put thresholds on their donations, to the extent that, forcing Afghanistan to meet certain accomplishments or criteria's.
Here is what I think
After Afghanistan..., either completes its own Arab Spring, or, after Afghanistan has removed Hamid Karzai and his entire administration and have sworn in new leaders and 5 years have passed....
Only then, under "either - or" circumstances, should we consider assisting Afghanistan in any way.
We can't force the Arab Men in that nation to treat their woman as human beings.
We can't force the Arab Men in that nation to turn their backs on the radical islamist in their families, just as we can't convince a non-racist white man to turn his back on his racist brother or friends.
We can't force the Arab Woman in Afghanistan to all decide to leave for a better world.
We can't force any human being or an nation to become anything that they don't choose to be.
Egypt & Libya are examples for Afghanistan's to follow and examples that the U.S. and other nations ought to allow to take place prior to anymore promises.
In My Opinion
ASMFMB
7/8/2012
Send Comments
Your comments will be added to the article that you write about, so include the article title
