Karzai threatens mission, lawmakers say

WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan is not in the best interest of national security, a group of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers told the U.S. president.

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Walter Jones, R-N.C., in a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, expressed concern that the United States was becoming "dependent" on an "unreliable" partner in Afghanistan.

The lawmakers said they were concerned that sustained military and nation-building campaigns in Afghanistan distracted Washington from the larger national security objective of pursing the global al-Qaida network.

"We should not spend tens of billions of dollars or ask a hundred thousand U.S. service members to risk their lives unnecessarily," the letter to the president reads. "Rather, we should transition to a sustainable counter-terrorism strategy for the region based on an orderly timetable."

The lawmakers stress that they remain committed to addressing economic, social and political issues that threaten the stability of Afghanistan. They caution, however, that corruption and questions over the leadership in Kabul make the current approach in Afghanistan "unlikely to succeed."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is under fire from the international community for accusing international dignitaries of playing a role in the fraud that marred August presidential elections. Karzai allegedly threatened to join the Taliban militancy if international interference in Afghanistan didn't stop.

The lawmakers said while it was laudable to hold Karzai accountable, "his recent outbursts only raise more questions about his willingness to take the necessary steps to address corruption and security on which our current strategy relies."