Karzai objects to U.S. night raids

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- United States and Afghanistan government officials are finding themselves at odds over successful night raids against Taliban insurgents, authorities say.

The attacks are putting pressure on the Taliban but civilian deaths incurred in the incidents are becoming a political liability for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has called on the U.S. military to stop the raids, The New York Times reported Monday.

The controversy will loom large at the NATO summit this week in Lisbon, Portugal, where the United States and NATO will present a plan to end the combat mission in Afghanistan by 2014, the newspaper said.

President Barack Obama, other NATO leaders and Karzai will be attending the summit.

"On President Karzai's concerns, we share these concerns," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday. "We've discussed them on a number of occasions."

But she made it clear that "these operations are conducted in full partnership with the government of Afghanistan."

Clinton and other U.S. officials have repeatedly said that Afghan troops have participated as full partners.

Military officials say the raids are focused on Taliban shadow governors, midlevel insurgent commanders and people who handle finances and logistics for the Taliban, the Times reported.