The Taliban are warning that a meeting in London on Thursday will do nothing to help Afghanistan.
A statement posted on a Taliban Web site Wednesday dismissed the one-day international donor conference as a "waste of time."
Ministers from more than 60 countries are expected to discuss ways to defeat the Taliban and stabilize the country. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also been trying to raise support for his plan to convince Taliban fighters to lay down their arms.
The Karzai plan has already won the backing of some key Western powers, including the United States.
But the Taliban statement said such a plan will fail because Taliban militants will not give up their cause in exchange for financial or economic incentives.
On Tuesday, a United Nations Security Council committee removed five former senior Taliban officials from its international terrorist "blacklist."
A U.N. statement said all five were high-ranking members of the former Taliban government but will no longer be subject to international travel bans, asset freezes and arms embargoes.
The Afghan government has been calling for an easing of U.N. sanctions on Taliban fighters who renounce violence and agree to support the government.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has warned that military action alone cannot stabilize his country.
During a meeting in Berlin Wednesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr. Karzai said Afghanistan wants to gradually reduce the burden on its international partners.
The United States and other countries have more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, with additional forces on the way.
Source:voanews.com/
Showing posts with label Clinton To Meet With Allies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clinton To Meet With Allies. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Afghan Taliban brand London talks 'a waste of time'
KABUL: The Taliban on Wednesday dismissed a London conference on Afghanistan's future as "a waste of time" and repeated their demand that all foreign troops leave the war-torn country.
"There have been similar conferences in the past, none of which have solved the problems of Afghanistan. The London conference will be just the same," the insurgent group said in a statement emailed to journalists.
"The London conference is in fact aimed at extending the invasion of Afghanistan by occupying forces. (It) is just a waste of time," the statement attributed to the Taliban Leadership Council said.
The militia said that "the only solution to the Afghanistan problem is the withdrawal of all invading forces from Afghanistan immediately."
Source:geo.tv/
"There have been similar conferences in the past, none of which have solved the problems of Afghanistan. The London conference will be just the same," the insurgent group said in a statement emailed to journalists.
"The London conference is in fact aimed at extending the invasion of Afghanistan by occupying forces. (It) is just a waste of time," the statement attributed to the Taliban Leadership Council said.
The militia said that "the only solution to the Afghanistan problem is the withdrawal of all invading forces from Afghanistan immediately."
Source:geo.tv/
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Clinton and Karzai due in London
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are due to arrive in London ahead of a crucial conference on the future of Afghanistan.
The one-day meeting is intended to draw up a blueprint for Afghan forces to gradually take over responsibility for growing areas of their country, paving the way for the eventual withdrawal of international troops.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is co-hosting the conference with Mr Karzai and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, said that at least five Afghan provinces - and some districts of the lawless Helmand region - could be handed back to home-grown authorities by the end of this year.
But he has set no timetable for the return of British forces. With US President Barack Obama's "surge" of 30,000 American troops and Britain's deployment rising to 9,500, the international military presence in Afghanistan is reaching its highest level since the toppling of the Taliban in 2001.
Nato's new civilian representative in Kabul, British diplomat Mark Sedwill, on Tuesday predicted that the alliance will have troops in Afghanistan, probably including British troops, "for 10 to 15 years".
International troops would continue in a combat role for three to five years, before shifting their focus to mentoring Afghan soldiers, he said.
His appointment came as part of a wide-ranging overhaul of strategy and operations, focusing on tackling corruption, beefing up the national army and police and improving the lot of ordinary Afghans to prevent them turning to the Taliban.
High on the agenda at the conference will be efforts to reintegrate former Taliban insurgents into mainstream society.
Mr Brown said he expects announcements on the future size of the Afghan army and police. Mr Karzai has already accepted international targets to boost his army to 134,000 and police to 90,000 this year, and may go further.
Around 70 countries will be represented in London on Thursday, including those contributing troops to the International Security and Assistance Force, neighbours of Afghanistan and other regional powers.
Source:AFP
The one-day meeting is intended to draw up a blueprint for Afghan forces to gradually take over responsibility for growing areas of their country, paving the way for the eventual withdrawal of international troops.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is co-hosting the conference with Mr Karzai and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, said that at least five Afghan provinces - and some districts of the lawless Helmand region - could be handed back to home-grown authorities by the end of this year.
But he has set no timetable for the return of British forces. With US President Barack Obama's "surge" of 30,000 American troops and Britain's deployment rising to 9,500, the international military presence in Afghanistan is reaching its highest level since the toppling of the Taliban in 2001.
Nato's new civilian representative in Kabul, British diplomat Mark Sedwill, on Tuesday predicted that the alliance will have troops in Afghanistan, probably including British troops, "for 10 to 15 years".
International troops would continue in a combat role for three to five years, before shifting their focus to mentoring Afghan soldiers, he said.
His appointment came as part of a wide-ranging overhaul of strategy and operations, focusing on tackling corruption, beefing up the national army and police and improving the lot of ordinary Afghans to prevent them turning to the Taliban.
High on the agenda at the conference will be efforts to reintegrate former Taliban insurgents into mainstream society.
Mr Brown said he expects announcements on the future size of the Afghan army and police. Mr Karzai has already accepted international targets to boost his army to 134,000 and police to 90,000 this year, and may go further.
Around 70 countries will be represented in London on Thursday, including those contributing troops to the International Security and Assistance Force, neighbours of Afghanistan and other regional powers.
Source:AFP
Clinton To Meet With Allies On Afghanistan, Yemen
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is traveling to London this week for meetings on Afghanistan and Yemen, two major U.S. foreign policy priorities.
Clinton recently unveiled a 30-page strategy paper that lays out the long-term goals of U.S. development experts in Afghanistan. She said civilians will remain in Afghanistan long after U.S. troops leave, and she is hoping other countries will make similar commitments.
Officials from countries surrounding Afghanistan and other major stakeholders are gathering in London to hear how Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to tackle corruption. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who was in Washington last week, said better governance is key.
"It's important to recognize that the Afghan government doesn't just need to avoid being outgunned by the insurgency; it must not be out-governed by the insurgency either," Miliband said. "For us, that speaks first to the need to tackle corruption at all levels; secondly, to achieve much greater focus on district and provincial governance."
Miliband said he is expecting Karzai to lay out more details on how he hopes to persuade some insurgents to lay down their arms.
In an interview this week, Clinton said that ultimately any conflict has to have a political resolution, but the U.S. wants a clearer understanding of what Karzai has in mind. She said convincing militants to disarm and live peacefully is the first step.
"There are two end states that are being discussed. One is called reintegration, which is done a lot on the battlefield. Our military did this in Iraq. They will do it again in Afghanistan with the same kind of approach," Clinton said.
"Then there is reconciliation, which would really look at seeing whether any level of leadership of the Taliban leadership will be willing to enter the political system in Afghanistan, eschewing violence, turning away from al-Qaida," she said.
James Dobbins, a defense and international security specialist with the Rand Corporation, a global policy think tank, says the U.S. is skeptical that Taliban leaders will give up their fight in return for anything Karzai could offer, but rank-and-file fighters might leave if the price is right.
"Offer them an alternative from continuing to take their Taliban salary — and the Taliban salaries are actually pretty good. And that's a question of resources. I think, for instance, one of the things Japan is going to announce is a substantial donation to fund that kind of a reintegration program," Dobbins says.
Helping Yemen control al-Qaida, as well as its own internal conflicts, is the topic of the first meeting in London. Clinton says this will be a chance for countries that have an interest in Yemen to brainstorm.
"They are coming together to discuss security and development — one without the other doesn't work. We'll be making clear to the representatives of the government of Yemen what we expect and how we intend to work with them," she said.
The international community needs to speak with one voice, according to Christopher Boucek, an expert on Yemen at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The meeting in London, which will include the Saudis and other Gulf states, is a chance, as Boucek puts it, to get ahead of a rapidly deteriorating situation.
One thing the U.S. can do is push for a cease-fire in the conflict in northern Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has been actively involved in helping Yemen put down a rebellion.
"This is rapidly accelerating Yemen's economic collapse, because they are spending money at such an alarming rate, and every dollar that gets spent fighting this civil war, which the Yemeni government cannot win, is a dollar that is not spent on fighting terrorism or dealing with a post-oil economy or thinking about water or any other issues," Boucek says.
Source:npr.org/
Clinton recently unveiled a 30-page strategy paper that lays out the long-term goals of U.S. development experts in Afghanistan. She said civilians will remain in Afghanistan long after U.S. troops leave, and she is hoping other countries will make similar commitments.
Officials from countries surrounding Afghanistan and other major stakeholders are gathering in London to hear how Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to tackle corruption. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who was in Washington last week, said better governance is key.
"It's important to recognize that the Afghan government doesn't just need to avoid being outgunned by the insurgency; it must not be out-governed by the insurgency either," Miliband said. "For us, that speaks first to the need to tackle corruption at all levels; secondly, to achieve much greater focus on district and provincial governance."
Miliband said he is expecting Karzai to lay out more details on how he hopes to persuade some insurgents to lay down their arms.
In an interview this week, Clinton said that ultimately any conflict has to have a political resolution, but the U.S. wants a clearer understanding of what Karzai has in mind. She said convincing militants to disarm and live peacefully is the first step.
"There are two end states that are being discussed. One is called reintegration, which is done a lot on the battlefield. Our military did this in Iraq. They will do it again in Afghanistan with the same kind of approach," Clinton said.
"Then there is reconciliation, which would really look at seeing whether any level of leadership of the Taliban leadership will be willing to enter the political system in Afghanistan, eschewing violence, turning away from al-Qaida," she said.
James Dobbins, a defense and international security specialist with the Rand Corporation, a global policy think tank, says the U.S. is skeptical that Taliban leaders will give up their fight in return for anything Karzai could offer, but rank-and-file fighters might leave if the price is right.
"Offer them an alternative from continuing to take their Taliban salary — and the Taliban salaries are actually pretty good. And that's a question of resources. I think, for instance, one of the things Japan is going to announce is a substantial donation to fund that kind of a reintegration program," Dobbins says.
Helping Yemen control al-Qaida, as well as its own internal conflicts, is the topic of the first meeting in London. Clinton says this will be a chance for countries that have an interest in Yemen to brainstorm.
"They are coming together to discuss security and development — one without the other doesn't work. We'll be making clear to the representatives of the government of Yemen what we expect and how we intend to work with them," she said.
The international community needs to speak with one voice, according to Christopher Boucek, an expert on Yemen at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The meeting in London, which will include the Saudis and other Gulf states, is a chance, as Boucek puts it, to get ahead of a rapidly deteriorating situation.
One thing the U.S. can do is push for a cease-fire in the conflict in northern Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has been actively involved in helping Yemen put down a rebellion.
"This is rapidly accelerating Yemen's economic collapse, because they are spending money at such an alarming rate, and every dollar that gets spent fighting this civil war, which the Yemeni government cannot win, is a dollar that is not spent on fighting terrorism or dealing with a post-oil economy or thinking about water or any other issues," Boucek says.
Source:npr.org/
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