Karzai says doesn't trust U.S., but needs security pact

[World News Headlines -]

By Hamid Shalizi and Jessica Donati KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai told a meeting of tribal elders and political leaders on Thursday they should support a vital security pact with the United States, but acknowledged there was little trust between the two nations. The Loya Jirga, or grand council, involving about 2,500 Afghans convened a day after Karzai and Washington reached agreement on a pact defining the shape of the U.S. military presence after a 2014 drawdown of multinational NATO force. "During the past 10 years I have fought with them and they have made propaganda against me." The five-day Loya Jirga will now debate the draft and decide whether U.S. troops will stay or leave Afghan forces to fight the Taliban insurgency alone. For almost a year, Washington and Kabul have struggled to conclude a Bilateral Security Agreement that will help determine how many U.S. soldiers and bases remain in Afghanistan after most foreign combat troops exit by the end of next year.

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