A security agreement between the United States and Afghanistan should be signed within weeks, not months if Kabul wants U.S. troops to remain in-country after 2014, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday, warning that further delay to the agreement would push Washington toward the "Zero Option", a complete drawdown.
To watch the programme, click here:
{youtube}Uaq8GUofGZY{/youtube}
The stalemate on the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) has caused some hand-wringing in the administration of Barack Obama, which has been pushing for the pact, especially with ongoing violence in Iraq serving as a fresh reminder of why the security deal could be so important.
Washington is placing new, heightened pressure on Kabul to finalize the agreement, which took over a year to negotiate before finally being voted on and approved by a Loya Jirga in Kabul back in November of 2013.
Washington has warned that the delay in signing the security agreement threatens the negotiated presence of eight to 12 thousand American soldiers in Afghanistan after 2014, which could leave the Afghan forces in 2015 to combat the Taliban entirely on their own.
In response to the U.S. deadline, the Afghan Presidential Palace stood firm on the preconditions rolled-out by Karzai following the Jirga, which have garnered both praise and rebuke.
Host Zabi Sadaat will discuss the implications of the report with the following guests:
Habiba Danish, MP
Gul Ahmad Azimi, Senator
Kabul Khan Tadbir Zurmati, military analyst
Mohammad Amin Yousof Zazai, political analyst