Haider al-Abadi of Iraq, Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan amenable U.S. war partners
“On the security front the entire NATO exercise was one that caused Afghanistan a lot of suffering, a lot of loss of life and no gains, because the country is not secure,” Mr. Karzai told the BBC.
Answering a question at the presidential palace last month, Mr. Ghani used the word “partnership” three times and “partner” once in referring to the U.S.
“In an enduring partnership, partners engage in comprehensive analysis to see what the state of play is, what is the balance force, how to use a multidimensional relationship to maximum effect,” he said.
Mr. Carter talked of “our strong and positive partnership with you, President Ghani.”
Michael O’Hanlon, a military scholar at the Brookings Institution who has written on the need to keep some U.S. forces in Afghanistan beyond a 2016 pullout date, said Mr. Ghani is making several right moves, including sharing power with election opponent Abdullah Abdullah, who is now the government’s chief executive officer.
“There is enough that is going well that I’d have to give him high interim grades overall,” Mr. O’Hanlon said. “First, his dealings with the United States seem very good. His dealings with Pakistan seem prudent and calm and constructive too, and that is just as important.”
In Iraq, Mr. al-Abadi, who took office one month before Mr. Ghani, likewise talks of a Baghdad-Washington partnership. He is reaching out to ethnic minority Sunnis and Kurds, which American diplomats have encouraged.
In his first few months, the Shiite Muslim Mr. al-Abadi fired scores of corrupt army commanders appointed by Mr. al-Maliki, and he inked an oil revenue sharing deal with Kurdish leaders in the north.
In other words, he met U.S. demands.
via NorthEast Calling http://ift.tt/18eEcZo
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