Afghan elders gather to debate vital U.S. security pact

[World News Headlines -]

By Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Thousands of Afghan elders gathered in Kabul on Thursday to debate a crucial security pact with the United States, a day after Kabul and Washington reached a draft agreement laying out the terms under which U.S. troops may stay beyond 2014. Efforts to finalize the pact had stalled ahead of the Loya Jirga grand council meeting this week, but the two sides found a last minute deal on the eve of the event. It is now up to 2,500 Afghan dignitaries to debate the draft and decide whether U.S. troops would stay or leave Afghanistan forces to fight the Taliban insurgency alone. "We have reached an agreement as to the final language of the bilateral security agreement that will be placed before the Loya Jirga tomorrow," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Washington.

Continue reading...