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White House looks to talks with Taliban
By Daniel Dombey in Washington
Published: May 5 2011 20:01 | Last updated: May 5 2011 20:01
The US has hailed the death of Osama bin Laden as an opportunity to move ahead with talks with the deceased al-Qaeda leader’s Taliban allies in Afghanistan, amid calls to scale down the Afghan war effort.
White House officials have highlighted the Taliban’s relative silence on bin Laden’s killing by US Navy Seals as a possible sign of growing distance between the Afghan insurgents and their jihadist former allies.
At the same time, the administration has resisted suggestions that bin Laden’s death brings into question the 140,000-strong Nato operation in Afghanistan.
President Barack Obama has described the mission’s ultimate goal as being to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda, although his own administration says that only 50-100 al-Qaeda fighters are in Afghanistan.
Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, argues that ties between the two groups were largely founded on the relationship between bin Laden and Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader.
“That’s gone, so I think it opens up possibilities for dealing with the Taliban that did not exist before,” she said this week.
The US and its allies were already gearing up for a political and diplomatic drive to encourage Afghan-led talks with the Taliban before bin Laden’s death.
Many US officials say that relations with the government of Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president, are set to receive a boost from the nomination as the next ambassador to Kabul of Ryan Crocker.
The veteran diplomat opened up the US mission in Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of the Taliban’s overthrow. While Karl Eikenberry, the current ambassador, has had tense relations with Mr Karzai, whom he criticised in cables and once accused of taking medication for depression, some officials describe Mr Crocker as Mr Karzai’s favourite US diplomat.
But previous efforts to establish meaningful negotiations with the Taliban have foundered and in the short term fighting is expected to flare up again in coming weeks.
In a meeting with journalists last week, Liam Fox, British defence secretary, stressed the importance of the political initiative, but warned of the imminent start of the Afghan “fighting season” as the Taliban sought to regain territory taken by Nato during the winter.
Some supporters of the Afghan surge have argued that the initiative to talk to the Taliban will be seen as a sign of weakness. “A strategy, as some are advocating now, of negotiating with the Taliban, trying to wrap this thing up, is the worst thing we could possibly do . . . because it will merely reinforce the notion that fighting by proxy is a successful strategy,” said Fred Kagan, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, highlighting ties between the Taliban and Pakistan.
The administration argues that the initiative is the natural complement to the military surge and a drive to increase the number of US diplomats in Afghanistan.
Mrs Clinton said on Thursday: “Our resolve is even stronger following bin Laden’s death, because we know that it will have an impact on those who are on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
“The battle to stop al-Qaeda and its affiliates does not end with one death.”
However, a small group of liberal Democrats asked Mr Obama in a letter this week to bring US troops home and end “America’s longest war in history”, amid steadily weakening support for the war effort in the president’s political base in the Democratic party.
In a CBS/New York Times poll, 48 per cent of respondents said the number of troops in Afghanistan should come down, compared with 40 per cent who maintained they should stay the same.
But 64 per cent said the mission in the country was not yet complete.
Mr Obama has announced that a drawdown of the 30,000 strong surge in Afghanistan will begin in July, and the administration is currently debating the scale and the speed of the reduction, amid expectations that fewer troops will come home than the president’s supporters would like.
Like previous such debates, the internal administration debate is likely to pit supporters of a smaller US force, such as Joe Biden, vice-president, against the champions of a bigger “counter-insurgency” effort, which emphasises the need to defend territory and win hearts and minds.
Bin Laden’s death has also spurred debate in France, where Alain Juppé, foreign minister was quoted by Le Figaro as saying the country would “reflect on” withdrawing troops before the scheduled date of 2014. But French officials say Paris would avoid any unilateral move and any early pull-out would be a collective one.
Additional reporting by Peggy Hollinger in Paris
By Daniel Dombey in Washington
Published: May 5 2011 20:01 | Last updated: May 5 2011 20:01
The US has hailed the death of Osama bin Laden as an opportunity to move ahead with talks with the deceased al-Qaeda leader’s Taliban allies in Afghanistan, amid calls to scale down the Afghan war effort.
White House officials have highlighted the Taliban’s relative silence on bin Laden’s killing by US Navy Seals as a possible sign of growing distance between the Afghan insurgents and their jihadist former allies.
At the same time, the administration has resisted suggestions that bin Laden’s death brings into question the 140,000-strong Nato operation in Afghanistan.
President Barack Obama has described the mission’s ultimate goal as being to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda, although his own administration says that only 50-100 al-Qaeda fighters are in Afghanistan.
Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, argues that ties between the two groups were largely founded on the relationship between bin Laden and Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader.
“That’s gone, so I think it opens up possibilities for dealing with the Taliban that did not exist before,” she said this week.
The US and its allies were already gearing up for a political and diplomatic drive to encourage Afghan-led talks with the Taliban before bin Laden’s death.
Many US officials say that relations with the government of Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president, are set to receive a boost from the nomination as the next ambassador to Kabul of Ryan Crocker.
The veteran diplomat opened up the US mission in Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of the Taliban’s overthrow. While Karl Eikenberry, the current ambassador, has had tense relations with Mr Karzai, whom he criticised in cables and once accused of taking medication for depression, some officials describe Mr Crocker as Mr Karzai’s favourite US diplomat.
But previous efforts to establish meaningful negotiations with the Taliban have foundered and in the short term fighting is expected to flare up again in coming weeks.
In a meeting with journalists last week, Liam Fox, British defence secretary, stressed the importance of the political initiative, but warned of the imminent start of the Afghan “fighting season” as the Taliban sought to regain territory taken by Nato during the winter.
Some supporters of the Afghan surge have argued that the initiative to talk to the Taliban will be seen as a sign of weakness. “A strategy, as some are advocating now, of negotiating with the Taliban, trying to wrap this thing up, is the worst thing we could possibly do . . . because it will merely reinforce the notion that fighting by proxy is a successful strategy,” said Fred Kagan, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, highlighting ties between the Taliban and Pakistan.
The administration argues that the initiative is the natural complement to the military surge and a drive to increase the number of US diplomats in Afghanistan.
Mrs Clinton said on Thursday: “Our resolve is even stronger following bin Laden’s death, because we know that it will have an impact on those who are on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
“The battle to stop al-Qaeda and its affiliates does not end with one death.”
However, a small group of liberal Democrats asked Mr Obama in a letter this week to bring US troops home and end “America’s longest war in history”, amid steadily weakening support for the war effort in the president’s political base in the Democratic party.
In a CBS/New York Times poll, 48 per cent of respondents said the number of troops in Afghanistan should come down, compared with 40 per cent who maintained they should stay the same.
But 64 per cent said the mission in the country was not yet complete.
Mr Obama has announced that a drawdown of the 30,000 strong surge in Afghanistan will begin in July, and the administration is currently debating the scale and the speed of the reduction, amid expectations that fewer troops will come home than the president’s supporters would like.
Like previous such debates, the internal administration debate is likely to pit supporters of a smaller US force, such as Joe Biden, vice-president, against the champions of a bigger “counter-insurgency” effort, which emphasises the need to defend territory and win hearts and minds.
Bin Laden’s death has also spurred debate in France, where Alain Juppé, foreign minister was quoted by Le Figaro as saying the country would “reflect on” withdrawing troops before the scheduled date of 2014. But French officials say Paris would avoid any unilateral move and any early pull-out would be a collective one.
Additional reporting by Peggy Hollinger in Paris
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