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| Good day at last as Bagram prison handed back to Afghanistan | | |
Australia: AFTER weeks of rising tensions and intemperate outbursts over alleged US sovereignty breaches, Afghan President Hamid Karzai finally had a "good day" in office this week.
The two allies appeared to put weeks of rancour behind them late on Monday when US Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to mark the transfer of Bagram prison to Afghan control.
"Today was a good day for Afghanistan," Mr Karzai said after a ceremony to mark the transfer of the final US-held prisoners into Afghan custody.
"Bagram prison was handed over to the Afghan government. Finally, after many years of effort, we have reached a deal."
Good days are a rare commodity for the Afghan President, who is struggling in his final year to carve out a legacy as an independent leader, and not the US puppet of which he stands accused by his Taliban foes.
But they rarely last.
Yesterday was another day of violence and bloodshed after seven suicide bombers stormed the Jalalabad headquarters of the quick reaction police force in eastern Afghanistan, killing five police officers.
The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said was targeting "foreigners and Israeli teachers" training Afghan police at the base, 150km from Kabul.
Mr Karzai has stepped up his anti-US rhetoric in recent weeks, suggesting Taliban militants killed Afghan civilians "in the service of America" in order to prolong the war.
He has banned US troops from Afghan university campuses after allegations of harassment, and also claimed abductions and killings of civilians in restive Wardak province on Kabul's western border were being committed by Afghans in the employ of US special forces there.
Last month he gave those special forces two weeks to leave Wardak, though weekend reports suggest a compromise has since been reached in which they withdraw from just one district in the province.
But Mr Kerry moved to play down the more inflammatory accusations during his visit, saying he was confident Mr Karzai "absolutely does not believe that the US has any interest except to see the Taliban come to the table to make peace".
"The US is committed to an enduring partnership," Mr Kerry said. "We are committed to Afghanistan's sovereignty and we will not let al-Qa'ida or the Taliban shake this commitment."
Mr Karzai insisted his comments had been misinterpreted, and that what he had meant in commenting on Taliban violence was that the best way for the insurgents to achieve their desired outcome - a full US withdrawal - was to stop killing people.
With NATO coalition troops preparing for a December 2014 withdrawal from Afghanistan after 11 years of war, Afghan security forces are gradually taking over responsibility for battling the Taliban.
Yesterday Australia confirmed it would close its Oruzgan base by the end of this year and pull out most of its 1550 troops, drawing a line under its participation in a war that has cost the nation 39 lives and many millions of dollars. |
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