A series of closed door meetings dubbed the "Loya Jirga" between Afghanistan elders and the United States to discuss terms of a security pact limiting U.S. military power in the country began Thursday and will run through Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
The meetings are taking place in Kabul, and the elders will offer recommendations, but their decisions are not final; the Afghanistan parliament may ask for further changes, but so far, the U.S. and Afghanistan governments have agreed on the pact's language, the AP reported
The current written agreement states the U.S. will have to keep troops in Afghanistan after the NATO mission ends in December 2014 and these forces must remain until 2024 unless both sides agree to terminate the agreement mutually, which would then require a two-year notice before termination, according to the AP. This means that if the pact is signed, the U.S. will have a legal reason for keeping troops in Afghanistan.
The pact also stated American forces would have use of any military base across the country, the AP reported. The U.S. has not released the number of. troops that would be binded to stay in Afghanistan after the mission ends.
Another part of the agreement states the funds needed to support the training, equipping and advising of the Afghan army by the American soldiers staying past 2014 must come from Congress and must be delivered yearly, according to the AP. The Afghan elders claim this is the only way the country can defend themselves against outside threats.
Mistrust of American soldiers who do not have to abide by the laws of Afghanistan while on the mission have led the elders to propose that contractors be subject to Afghan law and their judicial process, meaning American soldiers will no longer have legal immunity while in the country, the AP reported.
The security pact will allow for "mutually agreed" combat operations that will not be allowed to happen unless both sides sign off on them, according to the AP. The pact will allow for U.S. counterrorism operations to continue in coordination with Afghan soldiers, but Afghanistan must always be in the lead.
Another major issue Afghanistan has had with the U.S. are night raids which they deem a complete cultural offense because of the sanctity of women, the AP reported. Afghan elders wish to ban the U.S. military from completing anymore in the future unless an "extraordinary circumstances when the life or limb of Americans is at stake."
The meetings will continue through Sunday and will only be signed unless the U.S. agrees to all terms.
