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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Making a list and checking it twice... |
| 2004-12-05 |
| The United States could cut its forces in Afghanistan next summer if Taliban militants accept an amnesty to be drawn up by President Hamid Karzai and neighboring Pakistan, the senior U.S. commander here said Sunday. Any reduction in the 18,000-strong mainly American combat force in Afghanistan would relieve the U.S. military, stretched thin by the much larger deployment in Iraq. Still, the force is unlikely to shrink before parliamentary elections slated for April. "By next summer we'll have a much better sense if the security threat is diminished as a result of, say, a significant reconciliation with large numbers of Taliban," Lt. Gen. David Barno told The Associated Press in an interview. "That will change the security dynamics tremendously," he said. Afghan officials have repeatedly urged supporters of the former ruling regime to abandon the fight or return from exile to help rebuild the country shattered by 25 years of war and a debilitating drought. But plans for a reconciliation program have emerged only since Karzai's landslide victory in the landmark Oct. 9 presidential election. Such a program could anger ethnic minorities who suffered under the Taliban as well as regional powers, such as India and Iran, who are wary of Pakistan's influence in the region. Barno said Karzai, who is to be sworn in as Afghanistan's first popularly elected leader on Tuesday, is to produce a list of Taliban members who are considered beyond rehabilitation and pass it to Islamabad. The government of Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf would then "review it and make any comments on it, and I think there'll be a collectively subscribed-to list that says here (are those) who we all believe we're going to go after," he said. "As that list gets finalized here ... we'll see both countries moving forward to look to arrest and bring to justice those individuals," Barno said. He said the final number could be whittled down to less than 100. Meanwhile, the U.S. military will start a register of lower-level Taliban members willing to return to their villages and live in peace. The step would be a precursor to a reconciliation plan the Afghan government has yet to formally announce. "There'll be great interest in those first few figures who come in to see how they're treated, to see if they're protected or not," the general said. "If it works, I think that there will be a significant number of people following it up. You'll see some of it starting in December, or in January for sure," he said. The military hopes the Taliban's failure to derail the Oct. 9 vote has persuaded a significant number of the rebels that the insurgency has no future, easing pressure on U.S. troops who have failed to crush a rebellion along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Commanders say the Taliban are divided internally and that the authority of fugitive Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is fraying. Supporters of renegade Afghan leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a group viewed as smaller but more fanatical than the Taliban, Barno said, are also signaling their willingness to give up the fight. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Stands to reason. Therefore unlikely. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-12-05 4:14:59 PM |
| #1 This is nothing but The BEAUCRATIC BULLSHIT BLUES. PLEASE READ MUSHARRAF: BIN LADEN LOCATION IS UNKNOWN. BY PETER BAKER, WASHINGTON POST STAFF WRITER. I feel that Musharraf has cut a deal with Bin Laden, to allow him safehaven in the remote area of Pakistan in return for him not making any more assassination attempts on him. He is there-believe that! Don't ever think that Musharraf wasn't up to his neck in nuclear prolifertion with Khan. That is why he is being given full protection. In return for Khan keeping his mouth shut about Musharrafs role with nuclear sales to varous countries. There is a lot we don't know about and too much nepotism and cronism going on. We have a situation where the fox is in charge of the hens once again. Let us look at this 20 /20 and from many angles or perspectives. Fred your list needs to be checked more than TWICE thus, it is inconclusive! Your article is terrific, but the jury is still out on this matter. Andrea Jackson |
| Posted by: Andrea 2004-12-05 2:02:00 PM |