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Obama speaks of 'reaching out' to Taliban
The US president admits that the 'anti-terror' operations in Afghanistan will not lead to victory, urging dialogue with insurgents as a cure. 'No', The United States is not winning the war in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama told The New York Times, suggesting that contact with the 'moderate' Taliban elements could result in 'success' - as a similar strategy proved to be successful in Iraq. "If you talk to [the commander of US forces in the Middle East and Central Asia] General Petraeus, I think he would argue that part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists, but who were willing to work with us because they had been completely alienated by the tactics of al-Qaeda in Iraq." "There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region," the US president added. This is while Iraq is reportedly witnessing a sevenfold rise in the number of terrorist attacks since the 2003 US-led invasion of the country. The 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, which toppled the Taliban regime, has likewise been followed by numerous reports of an increase in insurgent attacks. Following the invasion, Taliban leaders took refuge in the tribal regions of Pakistan and gradually extended their influence to major towns and cities. The tribal regions along the common border also became safe havens for the insurgents. US attacks on alleged al-Qaeda hideouts, meanwhile, have incurred considerable civilian casualties outraging the countries' public. Despite the popular indignation, 17,000 additional US troops were deployed in Afghanistan following recent orders by Obama who has vowed to switch focus from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The conciliatory measure, which the president spoke of on Friday, is part of a policy revision meant to build confidence among the discontented public. Administration officials criticized a similar move on Thursday by Pakistan to reconcile with the local Taliban leaders allowing them to establish their own rule in the volatile northwestern Swat Valley, the paper concluded. Posted by: Fred 2009-03-08 |
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