Kerry, Karzai discuss Afghanistan transition

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a previously unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Monday to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai amid strained relations as the American-led international force continues to prepare to end its combat mission next year. Kerry's stop came on the same day that U.S. forces turned over control of a prison that has caused tension between the two nations, with Americans retaining a say on the handling of certain Taliban inmates. The talks followed controversial comments by Karzai in recent weeks that seemed to accuse U.S. forces of working with the Taliban to kill Afghan civilians, a charge denied by U.S. officials.At a joint news conference after their talks, Karzai said he had been misinterpreted when quoted as alleging collusion between the Americans and the Taliban, but he made clear that violence against villagers must stop for there to be any chance for successful peace talks. Meanwhile, the former commander of the international military force in Afghanistan, U.S. Gen. John Allen, said Monday that the war there would continue after foreign troops conclude their combat mission by the end of 2014. "On the first of January, there's still going to be fighting in 2015. There's still going to be fighting in Afghanistan," Allen told a conference at the Brookings Institution. He added that Afghanistan would "join a long and distinguished list of countries that will be struggling in a post-conflict environment where it will have an insurgency in some parts of that country for an extended period of time." Kerry landed in Kabul on Monday afternoon and met with Karzai at the presidential palace before the news conference that lasted almost an hour. The stop extended a multi-nation trip for Kerry, who was in Iraq over the weekend to press that nation's leaders to take steps prohibiting Iranian planes from delivering arms to Syria's besieged government. Last week, Kerry joined President Barack Obama on a trip to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan. Earlier Monday, the United States handed over control of a U.S.-run prison near Bagram Air Base to Afghan authorities. The handover deal was reached Saturday, but came a full year after the initial plan was announced by U.S and Afghan authorities. An initial plan called for the prison and detainees to be handed over within six months, but in September, the United States "paused" the transfer of detainees, which include suspected Taliban militants and insurgents. Other tensions between the countries involve continuing violence, such as a bomb blast in Kabul this month that killed nine people. Karzai said afterward that there are "ongoing daily talks between the Taliban, Americans and foreigners in Europe and in the Gulf states." The comment effectively claimed the United States was trying to foment continued violence inside Afghanistan, and it was quickly denounced by NATO and U.S. officials. Some experts say Karzai's comments were fueled by frustration over the detention facility not being handed over sooner, which he viewed as an attack on his country's sovereignty. During the news conference, Kerry repeatedly referred to Afghanistan's sovereignty in the transition process as the NATO military force turns over leadership of combat operations to Afghanistan's military, which it has trained in recent years. Under an agreement between the Afghan government and NATO, the bulk of U.S. and NATO combat forces are to be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. What remains to be decided is how many troops may remain to help train Afghan forces. The trip was Kerry's first visit to Afghanistan as secretary of state, but the former senator's sixth during Obama's presidency.