Afghan president: Foreign forces needed for decade
Source: Reuters
THE HAGUE, June 9 (Reuters) - Afghanistan will need foreign security aid for at least another decade before it can run its own affairs, Afghan president Hamid Karzai said on Monday. "It will take much longer for us to be able to fully defend ourselves and run our affairs. At least another 10 years will be required for the whole of the country," Karzai told journalists in The Hague. Some 60,000 foreign troops led by NATO and the U.S. military are stationed in Afghanistan where the al Qaeda-backed Taliban movement has made a comeback since 2006. The number of Western-trained and funded Afghan security forces fighting against the militants stands at about 150,000. Karzai was visiting The Netherlands ahead of an international donors conference in Paris on Thursday, when he will seek support for a $50 billion five-year national development strategy. Afghanistan is one of the world's poorest countries and depends on aid for 90 percent of its spending as it tries to rebuild an economy shattered by 30 years of war and fight off a Taliban insurgency that killed 6,000 people last year. Karzai said life in Afghanistan had improved since U.S.-led forces toppled Taliban insurgents in 2001 and thanked the Netherlands for its support, but said more was needed. "Part of the cost has already been delivered by the international community to Afghanistan, including members of assistance like the Netherlands. The rest of the money, which is nearly $25 billion, is something that we are seeking," he said. Afghanistan plans to spend more than half of the $50 billion on security and infrastructure, the lack of which hamper almost every level of economic development. The Netherlands, which has about 1,650 soldiers in the Afghan province of Uruzgan where violence has flared, would spend more than 700 million euros ($1.1 billion) on military operations and development, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said. About 560 million euros was for the military mission, which ends in August 2010, and the remainder would be spent on development during the next four years, a Dutch Foreign Affairs spokesman said. Official corruption has made international donors reluctant to channel their money through the Afghan government, but Karzai declined to comment on the subject, other than to say Afghanistan would "make sure to spend it well". (Reporting by Gilbert Kreijger; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
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