THE US would welcome Taliban participation in Afghanistan’s government – as long as the group gave up violence and recognised the country’s legitimate rulers, US defence secretary Robert Gates said yesterday.
On a 24-hour visit to Pakistan, Mr Gates emphasised that US strategy consisted of turning the tide in the Afghan war so as to convince Taliban leaders to sit down and negotiate.
“We and our many allies are increasing our capabilities in Afghanistan to try and change the momentum and bring the Taliban, those elements of the Taliban that are willing to reconcile, into the government,” he said.
Seeking to counter Pakistani perceptions that the Taliban would replace the government of Hamid Karzai, the Afghanistan president, Mr Gates told Pakistani journalists the US recognised that the Taliban were “part of the political fabric of Afghanistan at this point”.
“The question is whether the Taliban at some point of this process are ready to help build a 21st-century Afghanistan or whether they just want to kill people,” he added.
But with a strategy review – scheduled for December – including the decision by US president Barack Obama to increase forces to 100,000 by the end of the summer, time would appear to be rather limited for either a political or military breakthrough. – (Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2010)