Karzai criticizes US in farewell speech

Departing Afghan President Hamid Karzai used his farewell speech on Tuesday as a final opportunity to blame the US and Pakistan for the war that ravaged his country for ten years.

He also warned his successors to be circumspect in their dealings with Washington and other Western countries, accusing the nation that assisted his rise to power of using Afghanistan to further its own ends. He also suggested that ongoing violence in Afghanistan was a convenient excuse for the US to maintain its bases in his country.

"My advice to the next government is to be very careful with America and the West," he cautioned in his speech, saying that Afghanistan could be friendly with Western countries but only if the relationship was balanced.

Karzai was a relatively unknown figure when he rose to power in 2001 as part of the US-backed interim government following that country's invasion of Afghanistan in response to the September 11 2001 attacks. The ensuing conflict has cost thousands of Afghan lives, many of them civilians, causing Karzai to gradually step-up his anti-American rhetoric.

Karzai also expressed his ire at Pakistan, where the leaders of the Taliban group waging an insurgency in Afghanistan are thought to be based, for trying to control Afghan foreign policy.

"Today, I tell you again that the war in Afghanistan is not our war, but imposed on us and we are the victims," Karzai said. "No peace will arrive unless the US or Pakistan want it."

Controversial security deal

The discord between Kabul and Washington came to a head last year when Karzai refused to endorse a bilateral security agreement that would allow US troops to remain in the Afghanistan beyond 2014 for training and support purposes after the end of combat operations in December.

Constitutionally barred from seeking a third term, Karzai is set to hand over power to Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzi, who was only declared winner of much-disputed April elections on Sunday. The resolution came about as Ghani Ahmadzi and his rival Abdullah Abdullah agreed to form a unity government.

Ghani Ahmadzi has stated his intentions to sign the security pact that Karzai rejected.

es,tj (AFP, Reuters)