Afghanistan: Afghan Leader Jeopardizes Security Pact --- Obama administration plans to keep thousands of troops in Afghanistan for years to come were thrust into doubt on Thursday when Afghan President Hamid Karzai unexpectedly called for delaying a long-term security deal until his successor is elected next spring. -- The surprise move, which Mr. Karzai announced in a televised address before a special Afghan council that will advise him on the deal, cast a new cloud of uncertainty over the fate of the security pact. The administration warned that failure to complete the agreement by the end of the year could force the U.S. to pull out of Afghanistan altogether in 2014. -- Mr. Obama replied with a letter Thursday morning, Mr. Karzai said, but its text—initially released by Kabul—fell far short of the Afghan demands. The letter didn't acknowledge any American mistakes and said the U.S. has redoubled its efforts to ensure that Afghan homes are respected by U.S. forces. -- Mr. Obama's letter also raised the "enormous sacrifices" made by American soldiers in Afghanistan and said U.S. troops wouldn't enter Afghan homes unless there is "urgent risk" to U.S. nationals. --- Mr. Karzai, in an hour-long address to the Loya Jirga gathering, told Afghan politicians that the "agreement should be signed when the election is conducted, properly and with dignity." -- "There is mistrust between me and America," he told the advisory body. "I don't trust them, and they don't trust me." -- "We need to have that agreement signed by the end of the year," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters on his plane while en route to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a security conference. -- In Thursday's speech, Mr. Karzai said that if the Loya Jirga and the Afghan Parliament approve the security deal, the final signature would depend on the outcome of the presidential elections scheduled for April. Alluding to what he previously described as Western interference in the 2009 election, Mr. Karzai said: "We have had our experiences in the past election, and I won't repeat them." -- David Sedney, the former U.S. deputy assistant defense secretary who oversaw Afghan policy at the Pentagon until May, said the 2009 election had a long-lasting impact on Mr. Karzai's approach to negotiations with the U.S.