Speaking with TOLOnews in Kabul, U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain discussed the pending security pact between Washington and Kabul, recently announced prisoner releases, the upcoming elections and President Hamid Karzai.
When asked about the significance of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), which would ensure a continued military partnership between the U.S. and Afghanistan after the NATO combat mission ends in December, both Senators were adament about the accord being finalized and hopeful that Karzai would soon come around.
"We just had a very long lunch with President Karzai, where we discussed these issues in depth," Senator McCain said, referring to the BSA and the new preconditions Karzai has demanded of the U.S. before signing the accord.
Karzai announced back in November after a Loya Jirga approved the BSA that he would not sign the pact until the U.S. helped get Taliban peace talks on track and ended unilateral operations on Afghan homes.
McCain said that in their meeting with Karzai they were able to resolve some differences and that he was "guardedly optimistic" that progress was being made and signing was near.
"We don't' want to see a repeat of Iraq, where we left completely, seeing Iraq descend into chaos...we don't want that to happen here," McCain said.
The U.S. was negotiating a similar deal with Baghdad in 2011 as its forces prepared to withdraw. Negotiations fell apart after Iraqi officials refused to grant the U.S. criminal jurisdiction over its troops stationed in the country.
Washington has made a similar request to Afghanistan, and as of now, it appears Kabul officials have accepted the jurisdiction condition. The point of recent contention has been timing. Karzai has indicated he wants to wait until after the Presidential elections in April, while officials in the U.S. have said it needs to be sealed as soon as possible.
When asked whether or not the U.S. would be open to waiting until after the elections, Senator McCain said no.
"There is a time sensitivity here; the longer we wait on the BSA, the more it benefits the Taliban, the more benefit it is to the enemies of democracy and the Afghan people in my view," he said. "I think it's very important that our differences be resolved and the BSA be signed as soon as possible, and I mean this month."
The Senators offered some commentary on the Taliban, and the U.S.' perspective on the hardliner group that its invasion ousted from power in 2001 after establishing that the regime was harboring al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks.
"The Taliban is an enemy to mankind," Senator Graham said. "The Taliban is an enemy to all things that are human, blowing up statues of other peoples' religion, taking women to soccer stadiums and killing them for no reason at all, denying young women the chance to grow up and be educated...the Taliban are not only the enemy of the United States and the Afghan people, but humankind."
He went on to say that if the BSA is signed, it would be "the end of the Taliban." Graham expressed confidence and pride in the progress of the Afghan security forces, which took over the majority of operational responsibilities around the country this year as the security transition kicked into gear.
The Afghan forces were applauded by foreign officials toward the end of the 2013 fighting season for their performance. Still, they did suffer unprecedented casualty rates that many experts said would be unsustainable in the long-run.
"There is a lot America can do to help the Afghan Army and Police and the Afghan people, and I want to make sure that the Taliban never come back to Afghanistan," Graham said.
"The BSA, the Bilateral Security Agreement, will give confidence to the Afghan people, and we will break the back of the Taliban, because they know that with the continued support of America and the international community they cannot win against the Afghan people," he added.
"If we do not get this agreement signed in next 30 days, Afghanistan can become a new Iraq."
The Senators were then asked about the recent announcement of prisoner releases from Bagram prison. The tranche of releases was ordered by a special commission appointed by President Karzai, and has come under heavy criticism from MPs, the Afghan public and U.S. officials alike.
"I believe that the administrative review board, what Mr. Dadras is doing, is taking the rule of law backwards in Afghanistan, that the 88 people have Afghan blood on their hands," Senator Graham said.
"What they are proposing is the violation of our agreement that we have with the Afghan government, and it undercuts an independent judiciary...these 88 should have their day in court, they should be judged by the Afghan legal system, and the Afghan people deserve to have their day in court, and to release these people by the actions of one man would be a giant step backwards," he said.
"It would damage the relationship, it would; people in America would be very upset to hear that someone was released without trial and I think Afghans would be upset to know that 88 very dangerous criminals were released without going to trial."
President Karzai has been pushing a controversial tactic of releasing insurgents in hopes of building goodwill with the Taliban and progressing peace talks. Karzai and his supporters have moved ahead with releases all year, despite evidence suggesting that many of those freed return to the battlefield to fight the Afghan and coalition forces.
Many have said the most recent decision to release some 650 prisoners, inclduing 88 "dangerous" ones, from Bagram prison would be an illegal one as it was made without an order from the courts.
However, with reconciliation being Karzai's top priority heading into his last couple months as President before stepping down in April, it is likely he will not backdown on the issue.
Some in Afghanistan have suggested Karzai might try to delay the elections, citing insecurity as an excuse to postpone the vote and extend his stay in office.
"I don't see any rational reason for delaying the elections," Senator Graham said. "The people of Afghanistan have already shown their ability to conduct an election, so unless there is some overwriting issue that I don't about, I think it should go as scheduled...It seems to me, we have some very good candidates."
The April vote could be Afghanistan's first democratic transition of power in history. Karzai has served as the head of state for over a decade.
When asked about the President, both Senators spoke about him in glowing terms, despite their disagreements with some of his decisions.
"We have had disagreements over the years and we have had spirited discussions, but I have always appreciated his leadership, his commitment to the people," Senator McCain said.
"I think President Kazai is brave and is an Afghan patriot...he has a chance to do something for the people of Afghanistan they have never known in their history - provide stability in a future of partnerships," Senator Graham said.
"We have a chance to create a relationship between Afghanistan and the American people that is mutually beneficial, and President Karzai has a chance to be one of the most historic figures in the history of this country by solidifying this relationship," he added.
"I hope and pray that when they write the history of Afghanistan, they will say that it was President Karzai who took Afghanistan into the future and created relationship between the Afghan people and the international community that secured their future forever."
The full interview can be watched below:
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