Press TV
July 2, 2013
‘US intends to stay longer in Afghanistan’
AUDIO
The Taliban’s Tuesday attack in the Afghan capital Kabul dashes hopes of any possible peace talks between the U.S. and the militants, an analyst says.
The Taliban attack indicates there are suspicions amongst both “Taliban and average Afghans” that the United States and its allies “intend to stay in Afghanistan past next year [2014],” says Rick Rozoff, the manager of the organization Stop NATO.
“The real issue, and I think it’s highlighted by the fact that the NATO compound was attacked today in Kabul, is the fact that the country remains under foreign military occupation which began in October 2001,” Rozoff told Press TV’s U.S. Desk on Tuesday.
“The long-suffering Afghan people continue to be denied peace, reconciliation and security because of the geo-political designs of the United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.”
During the Tuesday bomb attack, Taliban militants detonated a truck bomb at a NATO supplier’s compound, killing nine security guards.
The talks, scheduled to kick off in Qatar recently, have once again hit a snag as the Afghan government sees itself marginalized. It has warned that the effort would not yield any results unless the negotiations are held on Afghan soil.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai renewed the warning on Sunday, saying talks on a key security pact between his country and the U.S. would only resume if Taliban meet with Kabul’s negotiators.
The Taliban have always accused Karzai of following U.S. policies and have thus refused to meet members of his High Peace Council.
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