Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai just negotiated a deal with the US on a security deal that commits both countries to a longstanding military alliance.  Then he stood before tribal leaders, denouncing the US, and declaring he won’t even sign the thing until next April if they approve it.

“There’s a mistrust between me and the Americans. They don’t trust me, and I don’t trust them. I  have always criticized them, and they have always propagated negative things behind my back,” Said Karzai before the Loya Jirga meeting in Kabul which pulled together thousands of tribal leaders for four days. 

And even though he urged leaders to approve the security pact, he added a new condition that apparently the Americans did not agree to – He would not sign the deal until after elections in April.  The White House says it was neither “practical nor possible” to delay the signing for that long, and gave Karzai until the end of the year to get on with it and sign.

The bilateral security would secure an American troop presence through 2024 and pave the way for billions of dollars in financial assistance.