Holbrooke: Lisbon Summit is ‘Turning Point’ on Afghanistan
The French news agency reports Richard Holbrooke says he believes the summit in Portugal’s capital will be a “turning point” in U.S. policies in Afghanistan.
Holbrooke stressed that the U.S. combat mission will not end in Afghanistan until 2014, but troop drawdowns will begin next year in July.
The Washington Post says General David Petraeus has expressed his “astonishment and disappointment” about comments Afghan President Hamid Karzai made in an interview Saturday with the Washington newspaper.
Mr. Karzai told The Washington Post he wants the U.S. to reduce the visibility and intensity of its military operation in Afghanistan. The Afghan president also said he wants the U.S. to stop night raids that he says aggravate Afghans and could incite some people to join the Taliban insurgency.
The newspaper says in a meeting Sunday with Afghan officials, Petraeus made “hypothetical” references to an inability to continue U.S. operations in the face of Mr. Karzai’s remarks.
A foreign diplomat in Kabul told The Washington Post the Afghan president’s remarks undermined not only Petraeus’ endeavors, but the international community’s efforts, as well.
However, an Afghan official told the newspaper “it is categorically false” to interpret President Karzai’s comments as a “vote of no confidence in General Petraeus.” The official said there are many areas of “common interests and common objectives.”
The newspaper say officials in Washington downplayed Mr. Karzai’s remarks, saying the Afghan president has expressed similar views to Petraeus and other officials in private.
The Washington Post says many coalition officials have become accustomed to President Karzai’s statements and think they are intended primarily for an Afghan audience.
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