Afghanistan's new government led by President Ashraf Ghani was on Tuesday due to sign a long-delayed bilateral security agreement with the United States that will allow U.S. troops to stay beyond the end of this year when their combat mission ends. Ghani's predecessor, Hamid Karzai, had long refused to agree to the deal, citing his anger over civilian deaths and his belief that the war was not fought in the interests of his country, souring his ties with the United States. But all of the main candidates in a presidential election this year said they supported the pact, which will also let U.S. forces keep military bases in Afghanistan. Ghani was declared winner of the election last week after prolonged wrangling with his main rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. Ghani was inaugurated on Monday and did not refer explicitly to the security pact with the United States in a speech after he was sworn in, but he spoke of the need to improve relations with Western allies. He also called on the Taliban and their militant allies to join peace talks.
