Karzai Insists U.S. Forces Killed Civilians in a Raid --- KABUL, Afghanistan — For the second time in less than a week, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan has picked a high-profile fight with his American allies, in the midst of a grand council that he convened to support a long-term security agreement with the United States. -- American officials reacted with anger and exasperation on Saturday after Mr. Karzai publicly accused American Special Forces troops of killing civilians in a raid on an Afghan home; American officials said it was an Afghan-led raid that killed only insurgents. -- In another long telephone call on Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry warned the Afghan leader that if the agreement was not signed within a month, there would be no agreement to sign. -- American officials have insisted that without a deal this year, they would not have time to prepare an American force for its mission after 2014, which the security agreement calls for. - ROD NORDLAND - nytimes