NEW YORK, March 8: President Barack Obama opened the door to a reconciliation process in which the American military would reach out to elements of Taliban in Afghanistan like it did to Sunni militants in Iraq, the New York Times said in a report based on exclusive interview with the president.

Asked if the United States was winning in Afghanistan, Mr Obama replied flatly: “No.”

“You’ve seen conditions deteriorate over the last couple of years. The Taliban is bolder than it was. I think in the southern regions of the country, you’re seeing them attack in ways that we have not seen previously ... The national government still has not gained the confidence of the Afghan people.”

The president staked out positions that at times seemed comparable to those of his predecessor than many of Mr Obama’s more liberal supporters would like.

Although he did not rule out the option of snatching terrorism suspects out of hostile countries, he acknowledged that outreach might not yield the same success.

“The situation in Afghanistan is … more complex (than in Iraq) … You have a less governed region, a history of fierce independence among tribes. Those tribes are multiple and sometimes operate at cross purposes, and so figuring all that out is going to be much more of a challenge.”

He said he had started a review of policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan, adding that reconciliation could emerge as an important initiative, mirroring the strategy used by General David H. Petraeus in Iraq.

“If you talk to Gen Petraeus, I think he would argue that part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Muslim fundamentalists but who were willing to work with us because they had been completely alienated by the tactics of Al Qaeda in Iraq … There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region,” he said, and cautioned that solutions in Afghanistan would be complicated.

It noted that the administration had criticised the recent peace deal struck by Pakistani government with Taliban in Swat. Pakistani officials had tried to reassure administration officials that their deal was not surrender, but rather an attempt to drive a wedge between hard-core extremists and fundamentalists.

“We’ve got to recast our policy so that our military, diplomatic and development goals are all aligned to ensure that Al Qaeda and extremists that would do us harm don’t have the kind of safe havens that allow them to operate,” Mr Obama said.

Mr Obama, the Times said, also left open the option for American operatives to capture terrorism suspects abroad even without the cooperation of a country where they were found.

“There could be situations — and I emphasise ‘could be’ because we haven’t made a determination yet — where, let’s say that we have a well-known Al Qaeda operative that doesn’t surface very often, appears in a third country with whom we don’t have an extradition relationship or would not be willing to prosecute, but we think is a very dangerous person,” he said.

State of economy

The president said he could not assure Americans the economy would begin growing again this year. But he pledged that he would “get all the pillars in place for recovery this year” and urged Americans not to “stuff money in their mattresses”.

“I don’t think that people should be fearful about our future,” he said. “I don’t think that people should suddenly mistrust all of our financial institutions.”

As he pressed forward with ambitious plans at home to rewrite the tax code, expand health care coverage and curb climate change, Mr Obama dismissed criticism from conservatives that he was driving the country towards socialism. The newspaper said that Mr Obama exhibited confidence six weeks into his presidency despite the economic turmoil around the globe and the deteriorating situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He struck a reassuring tone about the economy, saying he had no trouble sleeping at night.
Tags: