Karzai heads to U.S. to discuss future aid

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan President Hamid Karzai left Monday for Washington for meetings with President Obama and other top officials that will help shape relations after most U.S. and international troops leave the strife-torn country.

The talks come as Obama is weighing how quickly to withdraw about 66,000 troops and whether to maintain a residual force after the NATO combat mission ends, scheduled for 2014. Remaining troops would continue advising Afghan troops and attack any remnants of al-Qaeda.

Karzai, meanwhile, wants to ensure that crucial military and financial aid doesn't dry up when the foreign troops go home.

In May, the two leaders signed a strategic partnership agreement that pledged continued American support for Afghanistan for 10 years beyond 2014 but did not specify the U.S. security role or what civilian assistance would be provided.

Karzai has expressed support for a continued U.S. footprint in Afghanistan, but contentious issues must still be ironed out. They include the question of immunity from Afghan prosecution for U.S. troops accused of committing crimes in Afghanistan, an issue that could not be settled in similar talks between the United States and Iraq in 2011.

Afghan commanders have also voiced frustration about slow progress equipping their military in order to take responsibility for safeguarding the country. They want the United States and its allies to provide more sophisticated aircraft, weaponry, and surveillance systems. But Western officials question whether Afghanistan can afford such equipment.

Maj. Gen. Mohammed Zahir Azimi, an Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, said that providing for the security forces would top Karzai's agenda in Washington this week. Also to be discussed are efforts to draw the Taliban-led insurgency into peace talks, economic and political cooperation, and regional security issues, officials said.