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Afghanistan | ||
Afghan Taliban say they pose no threat to the west | ||
2009-10-08 | ||
[Dawn] The Afghan Taliban pose no threat to the west but will continue their fight against occupying foreign forces, they said on Wednesday, the eighth anniversary of the US-led invasion that removed them from power.
'We had and have no plan of harming countries of the world, including those in Europe...our goal is the independence of the country and the building of an Islamic state,' the Taliban said in a statement on the group's website www.shahamat.org. 'Still, if you (Nato and US troops) want to colonise the country of proud and pious Afghans under the baseless pretext of a war on terror, then you should know that our patience will only increase and that we are ready for a long war.'
In a review of the war in Afghanistan submitted to the Pentagon last month, US General Stanley McChrystal, in charge of all foreign forces, said defeating the insurgents would likely result in failure unless more troops were sent. There are currently more than 100,000 foreign troops in the country, roughly two-thirds of who are Americans. The Taliban statement comes at a time when western officials warn that deserting Afghanistan could mean a return to power for the Taliban and the country could once again become a safe haven for al-Qaeda militants, who could use it as a base to plan future attacks on western countries. | ||
Posted by:Fred |
#1 "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them. " "These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate." When Bush made these statements he articulated a consensus not only in the US but in NATO. To my knowledge neither the Bush or the Obama admin has ever repudiated these principles. Hunting down and killing the Taliban is surgical retaliation for 9/11, necessary to send the one simple but indispensably important message to the Arab-Islamic World and others: "Never, under no circumstances even attempt to attack NATO! Even if you succeed NATO's retaliation will inflict unacceptable damage!" Conversely if the Taliban survive and in some form get to be rulers in Afghanistan again, it will be clear that an attack on the scale of 9/11 is not a suicidal mistake. Iran, for one, will certainly take notice. |
Posted by: Ebbinter Untervehr6022 2009-10-08 15:07 |