Washington has denied allegation by Afghan President Hamid Karzai suggesting that the United States and the Taliban were conspiring to keep the level of violence in Afghanistan high to ensure the continued presence of U.S. troops in the war-torn country beyond the scheduled withdrawal deadline of 2014.
American Forces Press Service reported that visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, during a dinner that the Afghan President hosted on Sunday, discussed the matter with Karzai.
"I told the President it was not true that the United States was unilaterally working with the Taliban in trying to negotiate anything," the Secretary said responding to a reporter's question about his meeting with Karzai.
Any negotiation with the Taliban to build peace and political consensus in Afghanistan must come from the Afghan government, Hagel said. "Obviously, the United States will support efforts, if they are led by the Afghans, to come to some possible resolution, if that eventually evolves," he added.
Later in his comments, Hagel acknowledged that "when a nation would … think of engaging an enemy they're still at war with, it's difficult." But he added that he always has believed it is wise for nations to engage with and reach out to each other.
"That doesn't mean you are prepared to negotiate; it may never get to that point," he said. "But I think it's far preferable to war," he told reporters.
On Saturday, Hagel attended a briefing within earshot of a deadly blast near the Defense Ministry that killed nine Afghan civilians. Ten others were killed in a separate attack in Khost the same day.
Karzai made the controversial statement in the wake of Saturday's attacks by Taliban.
Gen. Joseph Dunford, Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the country, described it as "categorically false, and that we have no reason to be colluding with the Taliban."
On Sunday, a scheduled Karzai-Hagel news conference was called off, and Hagel's planned visits to the Defense and Interior Ministers at their respective headquarters were shifted to an ISAF installation.
U.S. officials said security considerations led to moving the ministerial meetings to ISAF facilities and canceling the news conference. A statement from the presidential palace said the media event was canceled because of schedule pressures.
But BBC, quoting a senior Afghan presidential aide, attributed the cancellation to tensions over civilian casualties, the handover of control of Bagram prison and the actions of U.S. Special Forces in Wardak province.
Dunford, U.S. Ambassador James B. Cunningham and other senior U.S. officials also attended discussions and dinner at the presidential palace.
Hagel began his first tour of Afghanistan as the new Defense Secretary on Friday meeting U.S. troops, and NATO and Afghan leaders.
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December 12, 2025 15:14 ET Central bank decisions dominated the economic news flow this week led by the Federal Reserve. Trade data from the U.S. also gained attention. The Canadian and Swiss central banks also announced their interest rate decisions. Inflation data from China was in focus as the country released the latest consumer price and producer price data.