Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghan president Hamid Karzai will issue an order demanding all private security companies in Afghanistan cease operation within four months, his spokesman announced Monday. That order is expected Tuesday morning.
The spokesman gave no further details and his announcement is raising questions among Afghanistan's international community which heavily relies on private security companies.
A U.S. Embassy representative tells CNN, "We can't comment on the decree until we have seen and studied it. We look forward to seeing the decree and understanding the details".
"The United States supports President Karzai's intent," the representative said, "and we are working closely with his government to help implement the goal of full Afghan leadership of Afghanistan's security in coming years, as pledged in his inaugural address and reiterated at the London and Kabul Conferences".
Privately, however, a U.S. official with knowledge of the issue but who did not want to speak on the record because of the sensitivity of the issue tells CNN that, based on the Afghan president's spokesman's statement, "it's not at all clear what's being announced". CNN
