Karzai set terms for future US bases

President Hamid Karzai yesterday outlined a string of conditions for long-term US bases in Afghanistan at a major gathering of elders debating the country's future after Nato combat troops leave.
Karzai told the loya jirga that he wanted Afghan-US relations to be those of "two independent countries" and assured neighbours like China and Russia that a long-term deal would not affect their ties with Afghanistan.
Karzai convened the four-day jirga to secure backing for a strategic partnership deal with the United States currently under negotiation which will govern Afghan-American relations after Nato combat forces withdraw in 2014.
The Taliban, waging a 10-year insurgency against the Karzai government, threatened to target the loya jirga, which is shrouded in tight security.
But with the strategic partnership some way from being finalised, the outcome of the jirga non-binding and political opponents staying away, some critics accuse Karzai of little more than posturing in calling the event.
"We want our national sovereignty and we want it today," Karzai told 2,200 delegates who gathered in Kabul. "We want our relationship with America to be one of two independent countries."
Afghanistan was prepared to host US troops in the long-term if they stop night raids and disband international bodies which play a governmental role, he said.
But if Washington meets demands such as these, Karzai said