World

Kerry announces U.S.-Afghan security agreement

Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Wednesday that the United States and Afghanistan had reached agreement on a security partnership after international combat troops withdraw, and that the deal would be presented to a gathering of influential tribal leaders beginning Thursday, The Los Angeles Times reports.

The deal, whose terms Kerry did not disclose, will be subject to approval by the tribal assembly, known as a loya jirga, as well as the Afghan parliament. The tribal gathering is an advisory body only, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai has indicated he won’t sign the security agreement unless the assembly approves it.

The United States has said that without a bilateral security agreement, no American troops would remain after 2014.

The United States seeks to deploy a limited number of military advisors after 2014 to train Afghan security forces and provide logistical assistance. Washington also wants access to nine military bases built by the Americans, which will be transferred to Afghan authority after 2014.

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