Kabul, February 17 (RHC)-- Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he has seen “no good” with the presence of American forces in his country, prompting further speculations of a breakdown of trust between Kabul and Washington.
“These whole 12 years were one of constant pleading with America to treat the lives of our civilians as lives of people,””Karzai said in an interview.
Karzai also said that he has not spoken to U.S. President Barack Obama since June last year, which may show the increasing gulf between Afghanistan and the United States.
“We met in South Africa but didn’t speak. Letters have been exchanged,” he said, referring to the funeral ceremony for South African anti-Apartheid leader Nelson Mandela.
The differences between the two sides have grown increasingly since Karzai refused to sign a security pact with Washington that would allow thousands of foreign troops to stay in Afghanistan after 2014.
The Afghan president said that the U.S.-led forces have been “systematically waging psychological warfare on our people, encouraging our money to go out of our country.” He said that what they (the U.S.) did was create pockets of wealth and a vast countryside of deprivation and anger.
The U.S. and its allies invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but after more than 12 years, the foreign troops have still not been able to establish security in the country.