14 Oct 2010 15:55:46 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds quotes, background)
BRUSSELS, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The United States will do "whatever it takes" to support Afghan President Hamid Karzai's push to reconcile with elements of the Taliban, but acknowledges that it is a complex effort which may not work, top U.S. officials said on Thursday.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the comments at a news conference in Brussels, where NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also said the military alliance was ready to facilitate reconciliation outreach.
"We have always acknowledged that reconciliation has to be part of the solution in Afghanistan and we will do whatever we can to support this process,"Gates said.
Clinton called the reconciliation effort a "complex effort that is just beginning".
"There are a lot of different strains to it that may or may not be legitimate or borne out as any bona fide reconciliation," she said.
"We are not ready to make any judgment whether any of that would bear fruit."
A senior NATO official said on Wednesday that NATO-led forces in Afghanistan were already facilitating contacts between senior Taliban officials and the Afghan government, including allowing them safe passage for talks in Kabul.
The disclosure revealed a greater Western role than previously acknowledged in Kabul's preliminary attempts to seek a political resolution to the 9-year-old war. (Reporting by Phil Stewart, Andrew Quinn and Justyna Pawlak; Writing by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Louise Ireland)
=======================================================
FACTBOX-Key players in possible talks with Taliban
14 Oct 2010 14:47:34 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Patrick Markey
KABUL, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's government says it has made preliminary contacts with Taliban insurgents as Afghan, U.S. and NATO officials look for a possible exit to the war.
The Taliban themselves dismiss talk of negotiations as propaganda and there have been conflicting reports about what level of contact officials actually have with insurgents.
Here are some of a key players in the Afghan conflict:
AFGHAN PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI
The Afghan leader has long advocated talks with the Taliban to end the war, but downplayed recent reports of secret negotiations, saying his government has only "unofficial contacts" with insurgents. Afghan officials acknowledge on-again and off-again contact with the Taliban over the last two years.
Karzai recently set up a peace council and its members say he may use it to soften his preconditions for talks with insurgents which currently include renouncing al Qaeda and violence and respecting the constitution. [ID:nSGE69A0Y2]
AFGHANISTAN'S TALIBAN
Afghanistan's largest insurgent force, the Quetta Shura Taliban, have always publicly dismissed the idea of negotiations until all foreign troops leave. Led by Mullah Omar, the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001 by U.S.-backed forces. They now have a power base in southern Afghanistan, but their insurgency has regained a foothold in other parts of Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has dismissed reports of negotiations as propaganda, and a deadline of next July set for the start of U.S. troop withdrawals could be an incentive for the Taliban to just wait. Some commanders may also believe they will have to negotiate at some point to avoid civil war once foreign forces start to leave, analysts say.
HEZB-I-ISLAMI GULBUDDIN
The most moderate of the main insurgent groups, Hezb-i-Islami or HIG movement, is run by a veteran commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Based in eastern provinces near Pakistan, he took up the fight against the U.S. invasion after 2001, in alliance with the Taliban. U.S. officials say his group is looking to position itself for a role in a future government. In March, the group sent a delegation for talks. Those meetings produced no concrete results, but Hekmatyar is more flexible on withdrawal of troops.
HAQQANI NETWORK
The hardline Haqqani militant network is seen as closer to al Qaeda and has a long history of ties to Pakistan's spy services, according to U.S. officials. Allied with the Taliban, the Haqqani group operates in southeastern and northern parts of the country. U.S. officials believe the Haqqani often operate independently of the Taliban. The Haqqanis are led by former warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani although effective leadership passed recently more to his more radical eldest son Sirajuddin, analysts say. The group was also mentioned in recent reports of contacts.
PAKISTAN
Seen as vital to U.S. efforts in Afghanistan because of its contacts with many militant groups, Pakistan's government says reaching a peace deal will be impossible without its help. Islamabad says it is "part of the solution", though U.S. officials say some elements of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency are supporting insurgents. The Afghan Taliban leadership since the group's ouster from power, the "Quetta Shura", is also based in Pakistan.
"We have assured full support to Afghans in these talks." said one senior Pakistani official.
THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
President Barack Obama's administration says it backs Karzai's reconciliation efforts. But special U.S. envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, downplayed reports of any secret talks. He says U.S. support depends on talks respecting "red lines" it sees as key -- insurgents must renounce al Qaeda, lay down arms and respect the Afghan constitution. The Pentagon sees the need for continued military pressure. But the outcome of a U.S. campaign to drive the Taliban out of their heartland in southern Kandahar could be decisive.
NATO POWERS
NATO has also voiced support for Karzai's reconciliation effort. A senior official says NATO has even played a role in "facilitating" contacts between the Afghan government and senior Taliban officials, including allowing them safe passage for talks in Kabul. He gave no details. But NATO officials acknowledge contacts are not at the stage where they will speed up the timetable for foreign troop withdrawals. [ID:nN1358350]. (Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider in Islamabad; Editing by Sugita Katyal)
=======================================================
14 Oct 2010 14:12:12 GMT
Source: Reuters
(For more on Afghanistan, click on [ID:nAFPAK])
* Seven troops killed on Thursday, six the previous day
* At least 40 troops killed this month already (Updates with two more troop deaths)
KABUL, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Seven foreign troops from the NATO-led force were killed in four separate attacks in Afghanistan on Thursday, NATO said, bringing to 13 the number of troops killed in the last two days.
Violence in Afghanistan is at its highest levels since the overthrow of the Taliban in late 2001, with rising casualties on all sides of the conflict. More than 2,000 foreign troops have died since then, over half in the last two years.
Three troops with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed by a homemade bomb in the west of the country, ISAF said, while two troops were killed in an insurgent attack in the south.
One service member was killed in the east in an attack by insurgents and a seventh ISAF service member died in another bomb attack in southern Afghanistan.
ISAF did not give any further details on the attacks.
Six foreign troops were killed in three attacks in the east and south of the country on Wednesday. [ID:nSGE690HW]
At least 40 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan this month alone -- nearly three deaths a day. More than 585 troops have died this year compared to 521 for all of 2009.
June was the bloodiest month for foreign forces in Afghanistan with 103 deaths.
The rise in troop deaths will weigh heavily on U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration ahead of a review of the war in Afghanistan in December.
Fighting has intensified in the south of the country since late September when Afghan and NATO forces launched an operation to clear Taliban insurgent strongholds in the militants' heartland around Kandahar.
There are nearly 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, including 100,000 Americans. Obama ordered an extra 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan in December to try and quell the violence but plans to start withdrawing forces from the middle of 2011. (Reporting by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Sugita Katyal) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/afghanistanpakistan)
No comments:
Post a Comment