Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Monday that the United States is responsible for his country's "intensely volatile" security situation.
"Initially, the entire Afghan people supported them when the U.S. troops arrived in Afghanistan, our constitution was made, our democracy was launched. However, our support has been lost since they began to go to Afghan homes, bomb our villages," Karzai told China Global Television Network in an interview released Monday, saying the U.S. lost focus on its objectives to combat terrorism and provide security to Afghanistan.
"The U.S. demanded a permanent military base from us and promised us two things in return," Karzai told Anadolu Agency in May. "The first was to support Afghanistan against external threats like Pakistan. And the second was to help the country improve its security situation and hence its economy."
Roughly 8,400 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan, along with 5,000 NATO forces, but U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis has recommended a further 5,000 be deployed.
"The U.S. agenda is not designed to secure the stability of Afghanistan . . . ISIS is growing during the U.S. presence," Karzai continued, adding that, "The U.S. must end this war responsibly."
He said that Afghanistan "needs the whole strategy of the cooperation in the region, because anti-terrorism is a global exercise," and said that his country is "grateful for what China has done for Afghanistan.
"China is increasing its cooperation with Afghanistan on economy, investment, and security. China wants the peace of Afghanistan. China has launched some integration economic program, the One Belt and One Road Initiative is one benefit of the whole region, that requires peace and stability in the region."
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