October 30, 2008	Thursday	Shawwal 30, 1429

WASHINGTON, Oct 29: The United States supports Afghan government efforts to reconcile with insurgents but not with Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban leader who harboured Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a Pentagon spokesman said on Wednesday.

“We as a government do not believe that Mullah Omar is somebody you reconcile with,” said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary.

“Mullah Omar has the blood of thousands of Americans on his hands, based on the support he provided to Osama bin Laden. So we do not reconcile with Al Qaeda,” he said.

Morrell’s comments were the most pointed rejection yet of a negotiated peace with Omar, who protected bin Laden before and after the September 11, 2001 attacks and is today a key figure in a resurgent Taliban.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has initiated contacts with the Taliban through Saudi Arabia amid growing concerns over rising violences and signs that insurgent groups are coalescing against his government.

The president’s brother Qayoum Karzai was part of an Afghan delegation that met with former Taliban leaders in late September in Saudi Arabia.

“We are trying so that our brothers, those Afghan Taliban who have taken the gun against their people and country, and their leader Mullah Omar, can return back to their country and work for peace,” the president said Sept 30 after the talks.General David Petraeus, who assumes command of US forces in the Middle East on Friday, said earlier this month that the United States should be prepared to talk with its enemies.

“The key there is making sure that all of that is done in complete coordination, with complete support of the Afghan government and with President Karzai,” he said.

“If there are people that are willing to reconcile, then I think certainly that that would be a positive step in some of these areas that have actually been spiralling downward throughout the course of this year,” he said.—AFP