[Blitzer:] The Afghan president Hamid Karzai is defending his decision to ban a United States congressman from entering his country. I pressed President Karzai about that in our exclusive interview and we also spoke about the concerns many U.S. lawmakers have about what happens after American troops leave Afghanistan. John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, you met with him recently. He just came back. He said one of the biggest issues is going to be after 2014, after all U.S. NATO troops are out. He told the "National Journal," he said, "The basic issue will be, do our troops have the immunities they need to operate? You don't want them subject to Afghan law." Will U.S. troops who are helping you after 2014 be subject to Afghan law?
[Karzai:] This is I know a very important issue for the United States, but this is also a very important issue for the Afghan people. If a U.S. soldier, like the one who went into a village and killed 17 people, including a pregnant woman with her baby, killing like that do you think is immutable? Can you give immunity to someone like that? But if there is an accident along the way and if it is not intentional and by way of a mishap, that's a different issue. So this is a difficult issue. I [inaudible] the U.S. position on this. But I hope the United States, its Congress, its government, will also understand the Afghan position and the Afghan view on violations of this nature.
[Blitzer:] Tell you, the U.S. military won't stay in Afghanistan to help you if they're subject to Afghan law.
[Karzai:] Well, we will talk to them about all these issues and we'll put across the Afghan sensitivities and reasons for that and I'm sure we'll also hear the U.S. side as to what it is they are seeking. We will try our best to reach a compromise where Afghanistan's lives and laws are respected, where also the United States finds it easy to work in Afghanistan.
[Blitzer:] There's a 10-year strategic partnership agreement
[Karzai:] Exactly.
[Blitzer:] from 2015 to 2024
[Karzai:] Exactly.
[Blitzer:] and this is going to be a sensitive issue. But I hear you saying there is no agreement yet.
[Karzai:] There is no agreement on this yet.
[Blitzer:] On this sensitive subject?
[Karzai:] This will this is going to be discussed in the security agreement.
[Blitzer:] Here's what's very alarming. American troops, they go into the ministry of interior in Kabul and Afghan troops assassinate them in the back of their heads, wearing Afghan military uniforms. And this is happening. It's happened on several occasions.
[Karzai:] Well, these are these are
[Blitzer:] This is something that shocks Americans because they're there to help you.
[Karzai:] Yes, these are incidents. You have them within the U.S. troops as well. That is something that can happen anywhere. It happens in Afghanistan, it can happen in the United States or elsewhere.
[Blitzer:] Should you apologize for this to the American people, to the American government?
[Karzai:] These are incidents, and as far as the Afghans are concerned, if something wrong is committed by an Afghan and we feel that that is wrong and has negatively affected our U.S. allies, definitely. But in the same vein, we would also expect that the United States would apologize for mistakes that are made in Afghanistan
[Blitzer:] The U.S. has apologized.
[Karzai:] for civilian casualties, for the killing of the innocent in Afghanistan. So reciprocity is very important, that shows respect for both sides.
[Blitzer:] I was shocked recently when I heard that you denied permission to an American congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a subcommittee chairman. He was with a congressional delegation, about to fly from Dubai into Kabul and you said you're not going to let this democratically elected congressman into your country. Why?
[Karzai:] A democratically elected congressman of the United States of America should not be talking of an ethnic divide in Afghanistan, should be not interfering in Afghanistan's internal affairs, should not be asking the Afghan people to have a federal structure as against what the Afghan constitution has asked for, should not be speaking disrespectfully about the Afghan people or the various ethnic groups in Afghanistan. If an Afghan did that from Afghanistan, how would you react to him in America?
[Blitzer:] So you're not going to let him back into your country, Dana Rohrabacher?
[Karzai:] Definitely not.
[Blitzer:] Ever?
[Karzai:] Till he changes his stand, till he shows respect to the Afghan people, to our way of life and to our constitution. No foreigner has a place asking another people, another country to change their constitution.
[Blitzer:] Even after all that America has done for Afghanistan?
[Karzai:] But that doesn't give you the right to play with our lives.
[Blitzer:] And you think he's that dangerous to you?
[Karzai:] Not dangerous. It's a matter of principle. International relations are based on certain principles. We are not America. We are Afghanistan.
[Blitzer:] But there is a concept known as freedom of speech.
[Karzai:] The freedom of speech is good, we respect that, but the freedom of speech with regard to other countries is another issue. He has freedom of speech within the United States and we have freedom of speech within Afghanistan, but if an Afghan member of parliament stood up and said the United States should be divided into five different regions, would you accept that?
[Blitzer:] The Afghan president Hamid Karzai in my interview in Chicago at the end of the NATO summit. I later asked Congressman Dana Rohrabacher to respond to President Karzai's charge that he had been disrespectful of the Afghan people.
[Rep. Dana Rohrabacher , Foreign Affairs Committee:] Well, [inaudible] but if I thought that I was being inadvertently disrespectful to the Afghan people, I would apologize, but I obviously have a deep felt respect for the people of Afghanistan and their courage and their principled behavior. They are tough people who are actually a model of courage in this world. So I respect them. It's Karzai I don't respect. So I don't think I owe an apology to the people of Afghanistan. Of course, Karzai is a corrupt and incompetent leader and I certainly owe no apology for trying to get Afghanistan to do investigative work.
[Blitzer:] As you can see, no love lost between Karzai and Rohrabacher. More than 100 girls, meanwhile, poisoned in Afghanistan. Is it just for going to school? Ahead, we have shocking details of the Taliban's alleged attack. And thousands of U.S. and allied forces training near Syria right now for a potential full-fledged war. CNN is there with exclusive access to their mission. Stay with us.