WASHINGTON, Oct 21: The United States rules out any role for the current Taliban leadership in any future administration in Kabul, but believes there may be elements in the Taliban movement who are against the policies of their leadership and they will have to be accommodated in a new Afghanistan set-up.
This was indicated by Secretary of State Colin Powell in an interview with CNN on Sunday.
When Mr Powell was in recently Pakistan, Gen Pervez Musharraf had said at a news conference addressed by him and the secretary that there were moderate Taliban who should be part of a post-Taliban government.
Secretary Powell, apparently agreeing with this position, said the US view was clear — that there was no place for the current Taliban leadership in a future set-up in Kabul, but there might be people in the Taliban movement who would have to be accommodated.
He reiterated US backing for the Northern Alliance, but said whether or not alliance forces should be permitted to take over Kabul was a matter that was under discussion.
Mr Powell said this discussion was not simply prompted by Pakistani opposition to the Northern Alliance; there were other countries also which wondered whether a group that represented only 15 per cent of the population should be in sole control of Kabul. That might crystallize opposition in other regions, the secretary pointed out.
Mr Powell, however, said the US would be very interested if the Northern Alliance, “which we are supporting” and which “has become more aggressive”, captured Mazar-i-Sharif.
The secretary’s latest comments have come amidst a flurry of activity by UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi relating to the future of Afghanistan and the role envisioned for the United Nations after the fighting ends in that country. Mr Brahimi will be travelling to Pakistan shortly and will also meet former king Zahir Shah in Rome.
Following discussions with US officials here and in New York, Mr Brahimi told a press conference on Saturday that discussions on a government to replace the Taliban were still at an early stage, but he was not overly hopeful that the efforts under way in Rome, Pakistan and northern Afghanistan were likely to create an acceptable and representative government.
In his CNN interview, Secretary Powell was asked also about news of an official directive to the CIA from President George Bush instructing the agency to destroy Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. In reply, Mr Powell simply, and cryptically, recalled President Bush’s statement that the US objective was “to bring Osama to justice or bring justice to Osama”.
Mr Powell refused to speculate on the possibility of the present military campaign in Afghanistan being wound up before the start of Ramazan towards the middle of next month.