US deal to steal Afghan independence

Political experts say, should the Afghan parliament ratify the strategic cooperation agreement recently inked between the US and Afghanistan, the deal robs the Asian nation of its independence, Press TV reports. The agreement was signed on May 1 by the US President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai to pave the way for the US presence in Afghanistan until 2024. The accord will be fully enforced after ratification by both countries’ legislative bodies. According to experts, the pact’s provisions and text as well as the legal value of its terminology work to deprive Afghanistan of its sovereignty. According to Article 9, Section 3 of the agreement, the US government can intervene in any dispute, to which Afghanistan is a party and the intervention can take a variety of forms, including political, diplomatic, economic or military. Afghan government and military “must” adapt to the forms of intervention “in the shortest possible time.” Article 3, Section 4 requires Afghanistan to obtain the US consent before making any decision on its transportation and communication network, exertion of control over borders, forming relations with neighboring countries, and deciding on the attraction of regional investment. Article 41, Section 5 obliges the Afghan parliament to pass anti-terrorism regulations on the basis of Washington’s definition of terrorism. Article 4, Section 6 gives the Afghan government a period of several years to eliminate traditional social structures in provinces where indigenous beliefs and values are pivotal, and replace them with a single system based on the model provided by the agreement. Afghan political groups and parties have already voiced their vehement opposition to the agreement, saying it will not bring peace to Afghanistan. The United National Front, a coalition of various political parties, has condemned the deal, calling it illegal and “imperialistic.” “History won’t forgive supporters of this imperialistic pact. They will be condemned by Afghanistan’s present and future generations,” said a statement from the group. The US-led invasion of Afghanistan was launched in 2001. The offensives removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country, despite the presence there of tens of thousands of US-led troops. Speaking to Fox News Sunday, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said the Taliban militants had grown stronger in Afghanistan since the US increased the number of its troops in the violence-scarred country by 33,000 in 2010. "I think we both say that what we found is the Taliban is stronger," Feinstein said.