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Afghan President Hamid Karzai has one of the toughest jobs in theworld — and he's held it for a decade. With NATO forces set todepart Afghanistan over the next couple of years, the pressure onKarzai is only going to increase. The question for his country— and for his legacy — is whether Karzai can finally stepup. In an hour-long interview with TIME's Aryn Baker at thepresidential palace in Kabul, Karzai talks about his tumultuousrelationship with the West, the troubled peace process with aresurgent Taliban and the coming transition of power in 2014.Following is the full transcript of Baker's May 13 interview withthe Afghan president: (MORE: See TIME International's Cover Story on Karzai) I am so sorry to hear about the assassination this morning ofArsala Rahmani. A good man, a very good man. Yes, he was someone I enjoyed meeting quite a bit. What do youthink the assassination means? This means somebody doesn't want peace. So what does this mean for the peace process? The process will continue. We cannot abandon seeking peace. Nosociety can abandon seeking peace, so the process will continue,this is something that we will continue, something we are willingto give more sacrifice for, something that the Afghans want anddeserve and must have. We have seen this assassination, and now both the Taliban andHizb-i-Islami have said that because you signed the securityagreement with the United States that they have no choice but topull out of reconciliation talks and continue jihad. Is this theend of the peace process? (PHOTOS: Fighting for Afghanistan's Future) The partnership deal is one that we worked on with greatdedication. We had certain conditions, that the U.S. finally met.And after having met those conditions which we considered importantfor Afghanistan's sovereignty and to the Afghan people, we thenentered into negotiations for the strategic partnership. Now thepartnership itself, any partnership is a give and take. You takesomething and you give something. Afghanistan is a country in need.Afghanistan needs to protect itself in the region; Afghanistanneeds to secure itself within the country. Afghanistan needs todevelop its forces, and Afghanistan needs to provide stability tothe people. Now this is what we need. The United States has needs in this region. Whether for the war onterror or for other interests,which is something we are not awareof, whatever they might be. Now in this interest of the UnitedStates, and the interests that we have we have come together tobring something to Afghanistan, and give something to the otherside. We have reached a good deal. The deal is in the interest ofthe Afghan people and the U.S. Just about the time that wefinalized this deal with the United States, a delegation ofHizb-i-Islami came here and they met with me, and I talked to themabout this partnership, and I asked them to go and see thedocument, and meet with the national security advisor, my chief ofstaff together, to explain the whole document to the Hizb-i-Islamidelegation. They saw it and they said 'this is great.' And it wasso good; they didn't find anything for the United States in thisdocument. So the question was 'well, everything is here for us,what is in it for the United States?' And I said, that is what wemust do to answer and to find. There fore I am surprised tofindthat they say it is not good, because the delegation, they morethan liked it. So what is behind this? I don't know. Does this make your task of pursuing peace more difficult? Not at all. The two biggest insurgent groups have stood against this agreement. It will happen. You are a man of extreme confidence. It will come out. Last month Afghanistan and the United States agreed on a strategicpartnership agreement that defines the relationship between the twocountries after the foreign forces pull out in 2014. Many thornyissues remain, however. What else would you like to see in the post2014 relationship that is not included in this document? This document, in general terms, is good. It has taken into accountwhat Afghanistan sees as its main interests. But this ispreliminary document. Upon this will be built the securityagreement. That it is where we will have a very difficult andserious negotiation. The United States will be asking for immunity.Where the U.S. will be asking for the use of our militaryfacilities. Where Afghanistan will be dealing on both these issues,keeping the past ten years in mind. MORE: Obama's Afghanistan Problem: Neither Karzai Nor the TalibanLike the 'Reconciliation' Script. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Hydraulic Directional Control Valve , Caterpillar Excavator Parts Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Excavator Spare Parts today!
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