More voices urge co-opting Taliban

An excellent article by Anna Badkhen, who has done some great reporting from both Iraq and Afghanistan:

More voices urge co-opting Taliban
October 15, 2006 (San Francisco Chronicle) by Anna Badkhen

Five years after the United States launched the war in Afghanistan to oust the Taliban from power, some U.S. political leaders and military commanders are saying that the only way to prevent chaos and violence from overwhelming the country is to co-opt the resurgent Islamic militia into the country's political system. From Gen. David Richards, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., they are stepping up calls for a political approach to suppressing the insurgency.

Pointing to a deal Pakistan forged with pro-Taliban leaders last month, granting the militia control of North Waziristan province in return for a cease-fire, they are raising the idea that NATO could forge a similar agreement and bring an end to the suicide bombings and raids in Afghanistan.

"I think played rightly, with luck and good judgment I believe is there, this could set an example how we should deal with these problems," Richards, a British officer, said during a visit to Pakistan Tuesday.

Photos: David Richards, top. Bill Frist in Afghanistan, bottom.

Critics across the U.S. political spectrum have criticized the Pakistani deal in North Waziristan and lashed out at the idea of bringing the Taliban into the realm of Afghan politics.

When Frist called for the assimilation of "people who call themselves Taliban into a larger, more representative government" last week, Democratic legislators accused him of trying to appease the Taliban, which had provided a sanctuary for Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda until the United States launched an offensive Oct. 7, 2001, to depose the radical militia.

"Sen. Frist now suggests that the best way forward in Afghanistan is to coddle the Taliban ... as if 9/11 had never happened," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said in a statement.

But many Afghanistan experts support such an approach, saying the Taliban cannot be defeated simply by military means because of their ethnic links and strong tribal support across huge swaths of the war-torn nation.

"The likelihood that we see a decline in insurgency without addressing the concern of the tribal people is very low. There needs to be an integration of the Taliban," said Carl Robichaud, an expert on Afghanistan at the Century Foundation, a nonpartisan public policy research group in New York.

On a lower scale, negotiations with the Taliban or pro-Taliban elements are already under way in Afghanistan.

Last month, British commanders reached a cease-fire agreement with the Taliban via the local gathering of tribal elders, in the town of Musa Qala in the volatile southern Helmand province, Richards said. Under the agreement, the British troops pulled out of Musa Qala in return for the Taliban doing the same, with the elders serving as the guarantors of the cease-fire.

Hoping to enlist the support of tribal leaders in beating back the insurgency, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed last month to hold jirgas, or tribal councils, in the border areas of their respective countries. The jirgas -- open forums traditionally used to resolve conflicts by bringing the disagreeing parties to a consensus -- would involve leaders of Pashtun tribes, who share ethnic ties with the Taliban. No date for the councils has yet been announced.

"The question is, and it's an open question, could you get enough of a consensus on the part of more moderate voices that you could make progress on the whole insurrection," said William Cole, an expert on Afghanistan at the Asia Foundation in San Francisco.

Karzai's pro-Western government has been courting former Taliban officials for some time. In 2004, Karzai launched a reconciliation program, saying all but a core group of 150 militants wanted for human-rights violations would be able to rejoin the political process. About 2,300 former members of the Taliban and other Islamist insurgency groups have taken advantage of the program, Afghan officials said.

It was "one of the most successful things the Afghan government has done," said Peter Bergen, an expert on Afghanistan at the New American Foundation and the author of "Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden."...

Comments

[ANJAN SENGUPTA]

Co-opting with Taleban - is this the perfect oxymoron?? Is there anything called moderate Taleban?? These two questions should be central to anyone trying a face saving solution in face of mounting casulaties and difficult life in Afghanistan.
One has to realize that Pushtuns were never Talebans, but a section of Pushtuns were made Talebans by the radicalisation emanating from the madrassas run out of Pakistan. Hence, if we say Pushtuns are Talebans and they are one and the same, two things have happened: 1) we are naive to beleive that all Pustuns or at least the majority of Pustuns are Talebans and / or love Talebans and 2) we give full credit to Pakistan in turning Afghanistan a living hell through their indoctrination program.
I refuse to beleive that it is 1, however by agreeing to co-opt we are certainly making sure that point no 2 above is marked in stone. Do we really want that????
The solution, by no means easy, is to dismantle the source of supply - close the madrassas, esp the radical Wahabbi ones that supply steady stream of suicide bombers to the world. Mudrike, Quetta are home to some of the most radical schools - LeT, HUM, JEI, JEM and their ilk are roaming openly in Pakistan (changing names to stay ahead of sanctions and bank a/c freezings). When we all know their contribution to the terror network around the world, why are we willing to look the other way about arresting them and closing their offices and madrassas. If we do that, and supply is choked, the Taleban scourge will lessen.
At the same time, we must, go the full hog in reconstructing Afghanistan. Build roads, hospitals, infrastructure and give the locals a taste of life.
At least, that way, we do not have to bow down our heads to have a deal with the Taleban.
The role of CIA - last two thoughts:
1. Hamid Gul, ex-ISI head has stated that CIA was involved and supported the coup which brought Musharraf to power.
2. When the Dutch govt went very close to sniff out the role of Pakistan govt and AQ Khan in the nuclear black market, it was stopped from pursuing any more by the CIA.
There remains a curious link with CIA and ISI which will undermine NATO efforts in Afghanistan !!!

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