U.S. Afghan strategic pact on the spin?

[ComradePashtun]

Eikenberry asks Taliban to join peace drive

by Frozan Rahmani on 5 May, 2011 - 19:17

KABUL (PAN): Al Qaeda members are operating outside Afghanistan and Osama bin Osama's killing was a good opportunity for the Taliban to join the peace process, the US ambassador said on Thursday.

Drug traders and opponents of the government were behind instability in the country, Karl Eikenberry told a news conference in Kabul. "I should say senior Al Qaeda, Haqqani Network and Taliban leaders have no bases in Afghanistan."

They were cooperating with the Afghan government's efforts at ending Al Qaeda operations, said the diplomat, who viewed the Saudi dissident's death as a boost to the peace drive in Afghanistan and efforts at regional stability.

Eikenberry believed the Al Qaeda chief's demise had created an opportunity for the Taliban to come to the negotiating table and renounce violence. The rebels should avail the chance of returning to the national mainstream, he reiterated.

About a recent trilateral meeting in Islamabad, US Special Representative Marc Grossman emphasised Pakistan's role in eliminating terrorism, the envoy said. Three-way cooperation in the war on terror in the present circumstances figured at the talks.

Bin Laden's hideaway in Abbottabad had raised questions and the US was seeking answers from Islamabad, the ambassador, who went on to renew America's commitment to stabilising Afghanistan.

Grossman would review long-term Afghan-US strategic partnership during his stay in Kabul, he said, insisting such ties were in the interests of both countries, and the region. The proposed partnership would spur Afghanistan's economic progress and political stability.

[ComradePashtun]

Afghans Lash Out at Neighbor, Woo the U.S.


By DION NISSENBAUM

KABUL—Officials in President Hamid Karzai's administration, in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden, are urging the U.S. to strengthen its commitment to Afghanistan and get tougher with Pakistan.
"We need a different course of action now," said Mr. Karzai's deputy national security adviser, Shaida Mohammad Abdali.

The U.S. and Afghanistan have begun negotiations into a longterm strategic partnership that will shape their relations beyond 2014, when President Barack Obama has said he planned to end major combat operations. Some Afghans see the Pakistan controversy as a chance to improve their bargaining position.

That is a turnaround from last month, when Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani urged Mr. Karzai to forget about a long-term deal with the Americans and instead consider a regional alliance with Pakistan and China, Afghan officials said.

The overture had resonance with some members of Mr. Karzai's circle, and suggested Pakistan could interfere with American efforts to end the Afghan war on its own terms.

But a rival pro-U.S., anti-Pakistan camp in Kabul has gained leverage after bin Laden was found to have taken refuge in a military-dominated Pakistani city, heightening U.S. suspicions that elements of the Pakistani military were protecting him.

Some Afghan officials say they now want to see decisive American action to stop Pakistani support for the Taliban insurgency. "What I'm worried about is that we may waste this opportunity by being too diplomatic again," Mr. Abdali said. "We should stop this and be very straightforward with our future demands."

Afghanistan's relations with its neighbor have long been fraught, particularly over Pakistan's history of nurturing the Taliban. Yet there are still elements of the Karzai administration that are deeply distrustful of U.S. intentions, and remain tempted by Pakistan's overtures. For now, they appear marginalized by the fallout from the bin Laden raid.

"High-ranking officials and President Karzai will definitely speak to U.S. officials and other allies and put pressure on them to destroy the safe havens of terrorists in Pakistan," said one of Mr. Karzai's palace aides.
"Pakistan has become very, very vulnerable," said Haroun Mir, director of the Afghanistan Center for Research and Policy Studies. "Frustration with Pakistan is greater than ever before."

As part of the security partnership talks with the U.S., which began in March, Afghan negotiators seek a binding deal that would guarantee that billions of dollars in American aid continue to flow to the Afghan government. They also want a formal "status of forces" framework that would allow some U.S. soldiers to continue operating from military bases in the country—with some restrictions—well after 2014.

Negotiations between the U.S. and Afghanistan over a long-term security deal are expected to take months. Mr. Karzai's administration is calling on the U.S. to funnel 80% of its funding for Afghanistan through the Afghan government, and to guarantee that the U.S. will continue to pay for the Afghan army and police.

Mr. Karzai is willing to allow American forces to stay beyond 2014, Mr. Abdali said, as long as the scope of their mission is limited to narrow counterterrorism missions over which Afghanistan has significant oversight.

"We'd like to know what the U.S. forces will do in terms of tactics, and what is a clear definition for what they mean by fighting terrorism," Mr. Abdali said.

Pakistan has used its relationship with the Taliban to retain significant regional leverage and influence Taliban leaders open to peace talks with Mr. Karzai. Some Afghan officials now hope U.S. pressure over bin Laden's sanctuary will weaken Pakistan, allowing pragmatic Taliban leaders to pursue talks with Kabul without fear of Pakistani retribution.

"There may be an opportunity—or a better opportunity—for trying to find solutions," said Hedayat Amin Arsala, senior minister in the Afghan government and a close aide to Mr. Karzai. "One hopes that the Taliban also realize that it is better for them and us to try to resolve this problem peacefully—and it also encourages Pakistan to play a more constructive role in this process."

Taliban leaders have shown no sign of changing course in the wake of bin Laden's death. Militants staged a sophisticated two-day assault over the weekend that paralyzed parts of Kandahar city. It was billed as the first major offensive of the Taliban's spring campaign.
—Maria Abi-Habib and Habib Khan Totakhil contributed to this article.

[khushal]

Believe me the OBL staged show will change nothing in Afghanistan. What will change things in Afghanistan is if the peoples interests are truly represented. People dont fight for other people, people fight for themselves and their own rights.