Karzai: U.S. Troops Can Have Immunity In Exchange For 'Sovereignty'

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Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he is willing to consider giving immunity to U.S. troops in a security agreement to be signed next year if his demand for "Afghanistan's sovereignty" is respected. The deal will outline the form of a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, as well as the number of troops and bases, after NATO forces withdraw in 2014. Karzai said his key demands were that the United States hand over all detainees in its custody and shut all its jails in the country, rescind control of Afghan airspace, and refrain from raids on Afghan villages. "Within those conditions, and once those conditions are fulfilled...Afghanistan is willing to consider immunity" for the troops, he said. The United States still has more than 65,000 soldiers in Afghanistan.