Afghan President insists on demands in security deal with US

Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has refused to sign a security deal with the United States, the White House said, opening up the prospect of a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from the strife-torn nation next year.

Karzai told U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice in Kabul on Nov. 25 that the United States must put an immediate end to military raids on Afghan homes and demonstrate its commitment to peace talks before he would sign a bilateral security pact, Karzai’s spokesman said.

The White House said Karzai had outlined new conditions in the meeting with Rice and “indicated he is not prepared to sign the (bilateral security agreement) promptly.”

“Without a prompt signature, the U.S. would have no choice but to initiate planning for a post-2014 future in which there would be no U.S. or NATO troop presence in Afghanistan,” a White House statement quoted Rice as saying.