Karzai asks NATO to leave Afghan villages; Taliban scrap talks

[sad sally]

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai called for NATO troops to leave Afghan villages and confine themselves to major bases after the slaughter of 16 civilians by a U.S. soldier, underscoring fury over the massacre and clouding U.S. exit plans.

In a near-simultaneous announcement, the Afghan Taliban said it was suspending nascent peace talks with the United States seen as a strong chance to end the country's decade-long conflict, blaming "shaky, erratic and vague" U.S. statements.

Karzai, in a statement after meeting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Kabul, said as a consequence of the weekend massacre, "international security forces have to be taken out of Afghan village outposts and return to (larger) bases".

The soldier accused of carrying out the shooting was attached to a small special forces compound similar to others around the country which underpin NATO's anti-insurgent strategy ahead of a 2014 deadline for Western combat forces to pull out.

http://news.yahoo.com/u-soldier-flown-home-afghan-anger-mars-panetta-022251034.html

[FirstLight]

1. well

would it be such a BAD thing if we were kindly shown the door over there? I swear, SOMEBODY has to have the balls to END this thing.