Al Turki blasts US on policy in Afghanistan

Riyadh: An "inept" United States cannot fix Afghanistan's problems and should simply focus on "chasing the terrorists" there, former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki Al Faisal said on Saturday.

In a speech to a Riyadh audience that included diplomats, Al Turki said the US-led Nato troop presence in Afghanistan has irrevocably alienated the Afghan people.

Cannot fix ills

"What Afghanistan needs now is a shift from nation-building to effectively countering terrorists," Al Turki said at the Arab News one-day media conference.

US President Barack Obama "should not be misdirected into believing that he can fix Afghanistan's ills by military means".

"Hunt down the terrorists on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border, arrest them or kill them, and get out, and let the Afghan people deal with their problems. As long as GI boots remain on Afghan soil, they remain targets of resistance for the Afghan people and ideological mercenaries," Al Turki said.

Al Turki, who has long served a central role in Saudi-Afghan relations, scolded Washington's handling of relations with Kabul. "The inept way in which this administration has dealt with President (Hamid) Karzai beggars disbelief and amazement. Both sides are now filled with resentment."