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| Afghanistan |
| Congress team to meet former king |
| 2001-09-30 |
| Washington Times A bipartisan delegation from Congress will meet former Afghan King Mohammed Zahir Shah today to demonstrate Washington's support for efforts to build a post-Taliban government. The delegation of 11 members includes Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican and vice chairman of the House International Relations Committee's East Asia and Pacific subcommittee; Curt Weldon, Pennsylvania Republican and chairman of the Armed Services military readiness subcommittee; the subcommittee's ranking Democrat, Solomon Ortiz of Texas; Silvestre Reyes, Texas Democrat; and Republicans Nick Smith of Michigan and Roscoe G. Bartlett of Maryland. "Ultimately our goal is to show support for the unity of the Afghan people. It's not a matter of eliminating [Osama] bin Laden. It's a matter of [eliminating] the whole terrorist network in Afghanistan. And the foundation of that network is the Taliban," said Al Santoli, national security adviser to Congress. Afghan elders and military commanders met the former king of Afghanistan yesterday. King Zahir Shah, 86, who has lived in exile in Italy since 1973, has become the focal point of diplomatic activity to find an alternative to the Taliban regime in Kabul following the terrorist attacks on the United States. The former king wants to convene a grand council of elders, a so-called Loya Jirga, to try to rally Afghanistan's fractious tribes behind a government of national unity. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |