Karzai: Talks With US to Keep Troops in Afghanistan Beyond 2014

Another 'Deadline' to End the War Looks to Slip

According to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, his government is already engaging in serious talks with the Obama Administration about keeping American troops in Afghanistan beyond the end of 2014, the current date at which NATO’s involvement is supposed to end.

The announcement came today at a press conference in Pakistan, which President Karzai is visiting. It comes at a time that the Obama Administration is preparing to announce what is expected to be a trivial July 2011 drawdown.

But officially, the US and NATO are supposed to end their decade long occupation of Afghanistan in 2014, and even though this date is comparatively new for the Obama Administration, officials had already hinted it would likely be missed.

Exactly how much it will be missed by remains to be seen, but a number of indications recently are that the US is seeking what amounts to permanent bases in Afghanistan, albeit under the guise of permanent “joint” bases with the Afghan military.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.