WASHINGTON, March 27: US President Barack Obama on Friday offered to include the so-called reconcilable Taliban in the Afghan peace process, but vowed to fight the Taliban hardcore to the finish.

“There is an uncompromising core of the Taliban. They must be met with force, and they must be defeated,” he said in a speech unveiling his new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“But there are also those who’ve taken up arms because of coercion, or simply for a price. These Afghans must have the option to choose a different course,” he added.

Mr Obama said the United States would work with local leaders, the Afghan government and international partners to have a reconciliation process in every province.

“As their ranks dwindle, an enemy that has nothing to offer the Afghan people but terror and repression must be further isolated,” he said while spelling out the main objective of this new reconciliatory approach.

Later, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told a briefing that the reconciliatory process would be led by the Afghan government. “We will only play a supportive role.”

Earlier, President Obama said that while he believed his new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan would work, he would ‘not blindly stay the course.’
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