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Setback for orderly Afghan withdrawal
Sydney Morning Herald - March 17, 2012
Starting talks with the Taliban had been a big goal of the US and its NATO allies for two years but only in recent months was there concrete evidence of progress.
The declaration by Mr Karzai, if carried out, would greatly accelerate the pace of transition from NATO to Afghan control, which previously was envisioned to be completed by 2014.
Defence officials admitted there was a divide between Mr Karzai's declaration and the US goals of training the Afghan security forces and conducting counterinsurgency operations.
Successful counterinsurgency requires close working relationships with rural Afghans to help build schools and roads and bring about other improvements in their areas.
Asked if it was possible to take all US forces out of villages by 2013 and still train Afghan security forces and conduct counterinsurgency operations, a senior US defence official said: "It's not clear that we would be able to."
Mr Karzai's declaration came in reaction to widespread Afghan anger over the massacre by a US soldier of 16 civilians in Kandahar on Sunday, and about the decision of the military authorities to remove the soldier from Afghanistan.
The Taliban statement said talks with a US representative had commenced over the release of some Taliban members from the Guantanamo Bay prison but it accused the US representative of changing the preconditions for the talks.
The statement did not make clear what preconditions were objectionable, but it emphasised that the Taliban were only interested in talking with the Americans and criticised "propaganda" about the talks that US officials had issued.
It was unclear if the two developments might have been related. But both came to light just as the US Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta, left Afghanistan after a tense two-day visit that included talks with Mr Karzai, and the Afghan President's announcement in particular appeared to be a surprise.
On Wednesday, the US President, Barack Obama, said in Washington the timetable for an Afghanistan withdrawal would not change.
Still, the Taliban statement appeared to leave open the door to a resumption of the negotiation process, terming their move a "suspension".
On the withdrawal of US forces to major bases by next year, Mr Karzai said Afghan authorities were capable of taking charge of security in rural areas. The American soldier's shooting rampage on Sunday took place in a rural part of Panjwai district, in southern Kandahar province.
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, rounded off his visit to the US this week by laying a wreath at Ground Zero in New York, where he declared the site of the September 11 attacks showed why British and US forces were deployed in Afghanistan.
"Here at the site of the twin towers, Ground Zero, here is the place to remember why what we do overseas is so important, so people are safe at home," Mr Cameron said.
But he said Britain and the US were determined to implement their "drawdown" strategy and hand over "lead combat" operations to Afghan forces by the middle of next year.
[The New York Times, Guardian News & Media.]
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