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taliban no threat to the streets of britainTaliban announces that it poses no international threat
by Jason Burke and Chris McGreal in Washington
The Guardian (U.K.)
10/8/09
The Taliban
have said they pose no threat to the west, in a statement apparently
intended to influence the debate over the future of the war in Afghanistan.
The
announcement appeared on several websites used by the Taliban. It will
be scrutinised by Barack Obama's national security advisers, who are
reported to be pressing him to shift the focus of the war from the
Taliban in Afghanistan to al-Qaida in Pakistan.
Some
of the advisers, along with Joe Biden, the vice president, argue that
the Taliban are not a direct threat to the US but al-Qaida's deepening
intrusion into Pakistan threatens to turn it into a destabilising base
for terrorist attacks.
The Taliban statement said they are
fighting to expel foreign invaders from Afghanistan and establish an
Islamic state. "We did not have any agenda to harm other countries,
including Europe, nor do we have such agenda today," said the statement
on a known Taliban website.
"Still, if you want to turn the
country of the proud and pious Afghans into a colony, then know that we
have an unwavering determination and have braced for a prolonged war."
The statement also said that those dying or displaced in Afghanistan
"were not involved in the (9/11) events of New York".
The
statement may be a sign that senior Taliban figures are reassessing the
movement's longstanding, though often tense, alliance with al-Qaida. In
a recent exchange of emails with the Guardian, a Taliban spokesman
avoided questions on the relationship between the Afghan insurgents and
Osama bin Laden. He said they closely monitored opinion in western
Europe and policy arguments in the US.
In Washington, Obama has been holding a series of high-level meetings as he decides whether to accept the recommendation of the NATO
commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, to deploy up to
40,000 more troops to combat the Taliban. Yesterday, Obama also spoke
to Gordon Brown on issues including Pakistan and Afghanistan, a White
House spokesman said.
The UN security council last night voted to
extend the mandate of NATO's 65,000 force in Afghanistan for a year,
underlining its backing at a time when US commitment to the war is
under review.
McChrystal argues that, without a swift and
significant increase in US troops, the war against the Taliban may
never be won. But most of Obama's national security advisers favour
shifting the focus to hunting down al-Qaida in Pakistan, because it
poses a greater threat to the US. They argue that the Taliban and Bin
Laden's followers are not inextricably linked, a view which would be
appear to be reinforced by the Taliban statement. If that position were
accepted, it might even open the way to dealings with the Taliban which
would be unthinkable with al-Qaida.
Hillary Clinton, the
secretary of state, and Robert Gates, the defence secretary, have
argued the two groups remain closely tied, and that if the Taliban were
to retake power in Afghanistan they would again provide a safe haven to
al-Qaida.
It is unclear whether the Taliban's statement
represents a shift in position, an attempt to influence a continuing
debate, or both
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