Kabul:
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, who is on a four-day visit to India, tells NDTV in an exclusive interview that the US "can't be aggressive" or "intimidate" him to sign a troop deal post 2014.
He has stalled the deal to allow bases with up to 15,000 troops in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of combat personnel. He wants attacks on Afghan homes to be stopped and a peace process with the Taliban started.
Speaking to NDTV from his palace in Kabul before flying to India, Mr Karzai said, "We will be here whether the US is here or not. That is where we are. This is our country. But of course we may be in more trouble. We may be poorer in certain ways. But Afghanistan can continue and will survive as it has for thousands of years."
On being asked whether he perceived America's statements as threats, he added, "They do at times behave like that...Allies should not be waging psychological war against each other. They need not attack us psychologically. They need not weaken our resolve. They need not portray as if we are in such terrible need that if they are not here, we are neither a nation nor a country nor a history nor a culture nor a future. That's not right."
'AFGHAN SACRIFICES BIGGER THAN AMERICAN'
President Karzai also told NDTV that he appreciated the sacrifices the Americans had made but insisted that Afghans "had sacrificed more."
"They do certain times behave in a manner that's not becoming of a big power. And we hope they recognize and change that. We are good friends with them. We have given immense sacrifice in the war on terror. No country has given as much sacrifice as we have. We recognize the blood and treasure they have spent in Afghanistan. That's a sacrifice we appreciate considerably. By comparison, Afghanistan has given much more sacrifice of its people, children, women, territory, environment and time. So our sacrifice is greater and if it's a war on terror then Afghanistan is the bigger partner."
'US AGGRESSION, INTIMIDATION WILL NOT WORK'
When questioned on whether there was a need to lower the rhetoric, he added, "aggressive rhetoric will not force us in to signing. We are not known as a nation for intimidation. If they have not recognized it, they should recognise it now."
KARZAI HARD-BALL ON TROOP DEAL
The US had initially insisted on the post 2014 troop deal being signed before the end of the year. But statements out of Washington by the Af-Pak Special representative James Dobbins indicate an easing of that deadline. President Karzai, who had also set up a Loya Jirga (Council of Leaders and elders) that unanimously endorsed the deal in November, has refused to sign it just yet, setting more conditions after negotiations had already ended.
KARZAI LEGACY: NOT A MODERN DAY SHAH SHUJA
President Karzai's hard-ball stubbornness not to sign the BSA (Bilateral security agreement) immediately is seen by top officials as an attempt to stay relevant in the run-up to scheduled presidential polls in April 2014 and not be perceived as lame-duck. Analysts say he also wants to go down in history as someone who stood up to all foreign powers. He is acutely aware, many officials say, of the need for an anti-America legacy.
Officials who have closely interacted with him say Hamid Karzai is closely aware of the history surrounding the reviled 19th century monarch Shah Shuja. From the same Pasthun sub-clan as the infamous king, the President, Afghan experts say, doesn't want to be painted as a modern day Shah Shuja, a ruler imposed by foreigners who is destined to meet the same end--despised as a puppet of foreign powers--and killed by his own people.