Karzai hits out at US 'threats' over Afghanistan --- A senior American diplomat warned Afghanistan faces civil war unless it signs a deal for US bases to remain in the country, Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president said on Saturday -- Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has accused the United States of "threatening" to abandon the country to continuing civil war if he does not allow American and Nato bases to remain in the country for another ten years. -- Speaking in New Delhi, Mr Karzai said the threat had been made by a senior American official but he had warned him Afghanistan is prepared for a so-called 'zero-option' in which all Western troops and financial aid is withdrawn. -- The United States has urged Afghanistan to sign a 'Bilateral Security Agreement' soon to avoid a military vacuum after the bulk of Nato forces are withdrawn by the end of next year. It wants to keep 15,000 Western troops at nine military bases. -- That withdrawal would mean the country could no longer pay police or army salaries – a situation and diplomats have warned could lead to instability and further conflict. -- One senior Afghanistan analyst said 90 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product is from foreign spending and that the $3 billion it raises through taxes doesn't cover the annual $4 billion it costs to run its security forces. "James Dobbins concluded to remain stable Afghanistan has to keep the security forces together and that an abrupt break with the US would be a major threat to stability which could lead to civil war. It's not a threat, it's a scenario," he said. - More, Dean Nelson, New Delhi - Telegraph