Afghan tribal chieftains to decide this week on future US troop presence
Thousands of tribal chieftains and politicians will gather this week in the Afghan capital to discuss a security pact with the United States which will shape Washington's future military presence in the war-scarred nation.
Thousands of tribal chieftains and politicians will gather this week in the Afghan capital to discuss a security pact with the United States which will shape Washington's future military presence in the war-scarred nation.
The bilateral security agreement will determine how many US soldiers stay in Afghanistan when most of Nato's 75,000 troops that are still in the country leave at the end of next year.
If endorsed by the loya jirga - Pashto for grand assembly - the deal will be put before the Afghan parliament for final approval before President Hamid Karzai signs it.
Key obstacles include the question of legal immunity for those US troops who remain - an issue that scuppered a similar pact in Iraq. And the Taliban have branded the meeting a US-designed plot, vowing to pursue and punish its delegates as traitors if they approve the deal.
They want us. They need us. And we promised to stay
Kabul says up to 16,000 American troops could stay beyond 2014. If signed, the agreement would allow Bagram Air Base, the largest military base in the country, to remain under US control, according to Karzai's national security adviser, Rangin Dadfar Spanta.
The loya jirga will also decide if US soldiers should be given immunity against Afghan laws for crimes committed while deployed in Afghanistan.