U.S. wants to keep using 9 bases, Karzai says

KABUL, Afghanistan - The United States has requested the use of nine large military bases in Afghanistan after international forces complete their combat mission at the end of next year, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday.

In the first public disclosure of the number of bases under discussion in security talks between the United States and Afghanistan, Karzai indicated that he would agree to the U.S. request. But he said Washington must provide unspecified "security and economic" guarantees.

"If these conditions are met, we are ready to sign the contract with the United States," Karzai said in a speech at Kabul University, referring to the bilateral security arrangement now under negotiation.

He added: "Our conditions are to bring security in Afghanistan, strengthen Afghanistan's security forces, provide concrete economic support, and to have a strong and positive government."

Since Nov. 15, American and Afghan negotiators have been hammering out a deal for post-2014 security arrangements. The agreement will not determine the number of U.S. troops, if any, deployed to Afghanistan in the future. That decision ultimately will be made by President Obama and his national security team.

The U.S. request for nine bases was included in its most recent draft proposal, presented last month, Karzai spokesman Aimal Faizy said in a telephone interview Thursday.

Karzai said the nine sites are Bagram Air Field near Kabul, Kandahar Air Field, and bases in Kabul, Jalalabad, Mazar-e-Sharif, Gardez, Helmand province, Shindand, and Herat. Those are among the largest bases now housing U.S. and coalition forces.

The U.S. draft request provides a general indication of the scope of any post-2014 military mission under consideration by the Obama administration. However, the number could change before any final security agreement is signed.

The deadline is Nov. 15, but U.S. officials have said they expect an agreement well before then.

The United States and other NATO nations have built and maintained hundreds of military bases in Afghanistan, from the massive air bases at Bagram and Kandahar to small combat outposts manned by a handful of troops.

The security talks, which have been held in Washington and Kabul, will determine U.S. payments for use of bases after 2014.

The complex security talks have covered a wide range of issues, among them legal jurisdiction for U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Afghan sovereignty.