Afghan leader says peace needed before US security deal --- KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan president Hamid Karzai said the United States should bring peace to his country before he would sign a security deal enabling American troops to stay beyond 2014, despite calls by an assembly of tribal elders to agree to the pact. -- "If there is no peace then this agreement will bring misfortune to Afghanistan," Karzai said on Sunday in his closing remarks to the Loya Jirga assembly of elders and dignitaries convened to decide on the security pact. "Peace is our precondition. America should bring us peace and then we will sign it." -- As the meeting came to a close, assembly chairman Sibghatullah Mojeddedi told Karzai: “If you don’t sign it, we will be disappointed.” In response, Karzai said, “Fine!” and left the stage. -- In a statement, U.S. Ambassador James B. Cunningham said he was gratified that the assembly “overwhelmingly offered support for the Bilateral Security Agreement and asked President Karzai to sign it by the end of next month.” -- “Today's decision by the Jirga endorses Afghanistan's continued security cooperation with the United States and our international partners.” -- "He has to be the one ... to sign off on this loss of Afghan sovereignty. He knows intellectually that this is in Afghanistan's interest, but at the same time it's distasteful to him," Neumann said. - More, NBC's Richard Engel reports.