Bush rejects Afghan push for control of US troops

US President George W Bush yesterday said US troops in Afghanistan will remain under US control despite Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s request for more authority over them.

"Of course, our troops will respond to US commanders," Mr Bush said, with Mr Karzai standing at his side at the White House.

At the same time, Mr Bush said the relationship between Washington and Kabul is "to cooperate and consult".

Mr Bush also said Afghan prisoners under US control in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere, would be slowly returned to their home countries.

"We will do this over time," he said.

"We have to make sure the facilities are there."

Mr Bush had high praise for Mr Karzai as a valued anti-terror partner and credited the Afghan leader with "showing countries in the neighbourhood what's possible".

But Mr Karzai came to their meeting with a long list of grievances. Among them: more control over US military operations, custody of Afghan prisoners held by the US and more assistance in fighting opium trade.

As for the opium trade, Mr Bush said: "I made it very clear to the president that we have got to work together to eradicate the poppy crop."

Mr Karzai said he hoped Afghanistan would be free of poppy crops within five to six years and that Afghan farmers could find alternative crops like honey dew melons and pomegranates.

There are about 20,000 US troops in Afghanistan, costing about $1 billion (800 million) a month.

That is in addition to approximately 8,200 troops from NATO countries in Kabul and elsewhere.

Mr Karzai commented on recent reports of abuse of Afghan prisoners by their American captors. "We are, of course, sad about that," he said, speaking in fluent English. But, he added: "It does not reflect on the American people."

Similarly, a report later retracted in Newsweek magazine earlier this month, that alleged mistreatment of the Quran by American prison guards, does not reflect American values, Mr Karzai said.

While claiming the original report was not responsible journalism, Mr Karzai said: "Newsweek's story is not America's story."

Saying he had been to a mosque in Washington, Mr Karzai noted that "tens of thousands of Muslims are going on a daily basis to mosques in America" without incident.

Mr Bush and Mr Karzai pledged to work more closely together amid continued instability and protests in Afghanistan.

"It's important for the Afghan people to understand we have a strategic vision for Afghanistan," Mr Bush said.

He said the US and Afghanistan had signed a "strategic partnership" that establishes "regular high-level exchanges on political security and economic interests of mutual interest".