Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers stand at the Bagram detainee center gate north of Kabul, February 13, 2014. The Afghan government released 65 prisoners – some of whom the US says have killed American and other Western Coalition forces – but who President Hamid Karzai insists are of no threat. Mohammad Ismail/Reuters
US-Afghan Ties So Discordant, Even Vow To Sign Security deal Hits A Sour Note -- Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor
President Hamid Karzai gave assurances last weekend that Afghanistan would sign a security deal that the US has long sought. But he chose to tell Germany's foreign minister first.
In a further sign of just how far relations have deteriorated between President Hamid Karzai and the United States, the Afghan leader is letting it be known his country plans to sign a security deal with the US – he apparently just can’t bring himself to have the Americans be the first to know.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced to the Bundestag Thursday that Mr. Karzai assured him during a weekend meeting in Kabul that the security agreement for a post-2014 American military presence in Afghanistan will go into effect.
“I was pleased that Karzai said very clearly that Afghanistan would in any case sign” the accord, Mr. Steinmeier told the lower house of the German Parliament.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
The administration’s pathetic defense of Syria policy -- Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
US agonizes over Syria but sees no new options -- AFP
Progress in Geneva is slow, but it's still Syria's best chance of peace -- Douglas Alexander, The Guardian
Syria: save the civilians -- Guardian editorial
Will China win its 65-year war with Taiwan -- without firing a shot? -- Isaac Stone Fish, Foreign Policy
Why Is China Really Provoking Its Neighbors? -- Robert Kaplan, Real Clear World/Stratfor
The Krypton Temple: China's Surging Tech Start-Up Scene -- Bernhard Zand, Spiegel Online
Shinzo Abe’s Nationalist Strategy -- Kosuke Takahashi, The Diplomat
Putin, East Asia’s New Power Broker -- Gordon G. Chang, World Affairs
Photographer: Central African Republic "Falling Apart" in "Horrific Violence" -- Brian Clark Howard, National Geographic
Exclusive: U.N. monitors warn of 'systematic' Somali arms diversion -- Louis Charbonneau, Reuters
Russia tells West it's time for common ground on Ukraine – or else -- Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor
Worried about Scotland vote, UK unveils big threat -- Ben Arnoldy, Christian Science Monitor
The Threat of Another Euro Crisis -- Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
The parable of Argentina -- The Economist
Globalising Internet governance -- Inside Story/Al Jazeera
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