Karzai Supports More Troops in Afghanistan, Doesn't Want Appearance of Occupation

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who recently submitted to a runoff after a contested electoral victory over Abdullah Abdullah, said in an interview with Fareed Zakaria that he supports more U.S. troops in Afghanistan for security purposes. Karzai added that it is important that the U.S. does not appear to be occupying the country, and places a significant emphasis on training the Afghan security force.

"The arrival of [American] forces must enhance the sense of protection of the Afghan people and must give protection to the Afghan people," Karzai said, in an interview that aired on CNN. "It must not be a capture and kill pursuit of the Taliban; it must be one that provides protection to the country and must also lead to the enhancement of the abilities of the Afghan military and security forces. Therefore they have to come as liberators as they did in 2002 and not otherwise."

Zakaria, who writes for Newsweek, said he could not imagine a scenario where Karzai did not win the runoff election, and expressed faith that the Afghan president deeply understands the issues facing the country.