BSA and mutual obligations

The study of the bilateral security Agreement with 26 articles and two attachments, we find the following:

Important Points of B.S.A

1. In fact, the agreement is a document for the US that legalize its utilities and permanent military bases, and to have activities in Afghanistan after 2014, which will question the independence and sovereignty of the country. In addition, the agreement gives great authority to the US Army in Afghanistan.
2. US established its bases in strategic points of the country like: Kabul, Bagram, Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat, Kandahar, Helmand, Gardiz, and Jalalabad; so it seems that their aim is not what they say clearly, these bases might be built for other strategic purposes that might be out the Afghan borders.
3. The number of the US army soldier that will be based in these bases are not clarified, so US will be able to station any number of them as it wants.
4. The agreement is valid up to ten years, due to the first part of the 26^th article of the agreement, if it is not invalidated, it will automatically extend. It means that the US military bases in Afghanistan are not temporary bases, but are permanent.
5. The foreign forces based in Afghanistan are able to perform military operations in any part of the country. In the fourth part of the second article it is said, “Both the parties agree that the US army can struggle against Al Qaida, and their relevant groups, which will be in the frame of mutual struggle against terrorism.” The US did not accept the article that their forces are not allowed to enter the civilian houses and search there. And they gave a conditional promise about it. On the other hand, the word “terrorism” and “relevant of Al Qaida” is also not yet defined.
6. According to the seventh article of the agreement, the bases will be completely under the control of the US forces, anything they want to do they can do without any observation of the Afghan government. No one is able to enter the bases without the permission of the US forces. There bases are free, without any type of payment for the Afghan government, for the US army. On the other hand, their bases and utilities in Afghanistan are unlimited, according to the seventh part of the first article of the agreement, and in the future they can expand their bases to other parts of the country.
7. The US can use Afghan land as the storage of its weapons and equipment. According to the article nine of the agreement, the US can store its weapons, equipment, and any type of supplies in the appointed bases, and other areas of the country that both the parties are agreed on. The US has control over the stored weapons and equipment in the country and can use them, they can also transfer those abroad the country.
8. According to the article ten of the agreement, Afghanistan will provide anything needed by the airplanes used by the US army and the ones that work for the US army. Those airplanes will not pay any type of taxes for the Afghan Government, and will not pay any type of charges for the usage of Afghan airports and airbases. Overall, all the foreign forces are free of any type of taxes. While, if those taxes were given to the Afghan Government, Afghanistan would gain more than what the US promised the Afghan Government to give it annually.
9. It is also mentioned in the same article that Afghanistan allow all the vehicles related to the US army to enter, exit, drive inside the country, and these vehicles does not need any type of registration, and the Afghan Government does not have any authority over these vehicles. And all the vehicles, and airplanes related to the US are free of any type of observation, monitoring, and taxes in the country.
10. The article eleven of the agreement points that all the contractors, who work for US army in Afghanistan, either they are construction, or logistics company, are following the American rules and regulations. And all the contractors and workers of the US army are free of registration and taxes. And only for the purpose of gaining activation license they will refer to AISA, and they will pay the tax for AISA that needs activation once in three years.
11. The US military and their contractors can use the public services like: electricity, water, and gas, and they will pay as much as the Afghan Military Forces pay, and they should not be charged extra.
12. Afghan Government will provide some radio and television frequency free of charge and taxes for the US army. The US army is allowed to use those frequencies while needed. It is mentioned that the US army will provide entertainment programs for their army through those frequencies. It is clear that those programs will not be limited to the military bases, and those may spread to the residential areas. This point caused concern about the cultural impacts of those programs on the Afghan civilians.
13. One of the most important aspects mentioned in the agreement is the full judicial protection of US military officials in Afghanistan. It is mentioned in the thirteenth article of the agreement that all the US militant and civilians have full judicial protection in Afghanistan. If they have done any type of crime in Afghanistan against any personality, they could not be prosecuted according to the laws of Afghanistan, no Afghan Security Forces or other organization has the right to arrest anyone of the US militant under any circumstances. If someone is arrested by any Afghan he/she should be submitted to the US military forces as soon as possible. And none of the US military members should be submitted to any international judiciary organization, or any other country’s judicial system without the agreement of the US government.
14. It is mentioned in the fourteenth article of the agreement that any military of civilian American can have gun without the permission and license of the Afghan Government.
15. The fifteenth article of the agreement mentioned that all the military and civilian American, individually or collectively, can use any airport or border of the country without any visa, it is enough that they have their identity card provided by the US government. And they are exception from the registration and protection of foreign citizens in Afghanistan.
16. Due to the agreement, Afghan Government should provide one year visa for all the officials and contractors of the US Military forces as soon as possible, if any Afghan Official refuses it, the officials are supposed to inform the US forces as soon as possible.
17. It is mentioned in the sixteenth article of the agreement that the US forces are allowed to import and export anything to Afghanistan without the observation activities (except in exceptional cases) and they will not pay any taxes and they do not need any type of permission for such activities.
18. Article seventeen of the agreement says that all the members of the U.S. army, either military or civilians, are free of any type of taxes that are charged on foreign citizens. And all the contractors that are not Afghan citizens and do not live in Afghanistan are free of any type of taxes and charges.
19. It is said in the article eighteen of the agreement that all the driving licenses that are given to the military, civilians, and contractors, who are working for the U.S. army, are accepted by the Afghan Government, and the Afghan Government should provide all the number plates needed for the U.S. military without any type of taxes and charges.
20. According to the article 24 of the agreement, Afghanistan cannot refer to international courts and meditation of others because of the violation of the U.S.; “any type of dispute, especially about the interpretation and implementation of the agreement, should be solved through negotiation between the parties, and it should not be referred to any national or international court, or any similar organization, and third party for resolution.”

In addition to these issues, in the process of negotiation about the bilateral security agreement, in some of the documents sent by the Afghan delegation it was mentioned that the U.S. side emphasized that the operations of CIA drones should not follow the agreement.

In fact, the agreement provides any type of freedom for all the members of the U.S. military and their contractors. And up to the extent these freedoms are expanded to that extent the sovereignty and independency of Afghanistan is questioned.

The U.S. nonbinding commitments

The U.S. did not offer any thing for the privileges that it gains from Afghan Government. The Afghan Government asked the U.S. to be committed to the promises about the fixed financial support of the Afghan Security Forces. But the U.S. did not give any promises in the B.S.A. and the only thing that the U.S. mentioned in the agreement are the repetition of the articles mentioned in the strategic agreement signed between the two countries on 5^th May, 2012. The third part of the article four of the security agreement pointed to the strategic agreement between Afghanistan and the U.S. and in the light of the decision made in the Chicago Conference in 2012 it is said that the U.S. is responsible for the searching th financial resources for training, supporting and equipment of the Afghan Security Forces. It means that the U.S. is searching for the resources, if they did not find the resources; they are not obliged to implement its promises to the Afghan Government.

About the external attacks on the Afghan territory, the U.S. said in the article six of the agreement that if any country attacks Afghanistan or attempt for attack on the Afghan land, the U.S. and Afghanistan will negotiate and will provide a resolution for it through negotiation and consultation. It is mentioned in the third article of the agreement, “If Afghanistan is attacked, or is under any risk of such attacks both the parties (Afghanistan and the U.S.) will negotiate and will provide resolution through consultation for the required political, economic and military activities against those attacks. All the parts of this article are about negotiation and consultation, and it ignores the demands of Afghan Government from the U.S. government.

But all the mentioned articles in the agreement that the U.S. took its responsibility, do not have the value of losing the sovereignty of the country. Therefore, most of the analysts believe that the unexpected changes in the position of ex-president Karzai about signing the agreement were based on the lack of balance and justice in the agreement that were against the national interests of Afghanistan. Ex-president Karzai believed that the agreement would be much better than its current condition. And it will bring peace, prosperity and stability to Afghanistan.

As ex-president Karzai said, in the inauguration of the Loya Jirga, that his zeal and honor does not let him sign bases for the foreigners in the country, but he will accept it for the peace and stability of the country. “But, if we do not have peace and stability in the country, as the result of the agreement, we lost everything” according to him. “They will live peacefully in their bases”, he said, “and we will be in war against each other, and we will be full of injuries.”

The peace process

The B.S.A. gives plenty of authorities to the U.S. side, but in return there are uncertain promises given to Afghan side, and instead of containing applicable and mandatory promises, most of the terms are honorary like: respect, honor, consultation, and negotiation, which do not have any legal definition.

Not only Afghanistan will not develop economically with the agreement, but the peace process that is the main requirement of the government will also suspend up to 2024. And even after that, due to the article 26 of the agreement, the U.S. forces stay in the country the implementation of peace process seems impossible.

With signing the B.S.A. the Afghan Government Enemies will get strength, and their war may become much meaningful.

Though President Ashraf Ghani said that, in the future, it is possible to bring changes in the agreement, but it does not seem that changes in the agreement will be possible. As the U.S. did not accept many articles with the pressure of the Afghan Government in the negotiation, how is it possible that they will accept changes in the agreement in the future?!

The End