| Ander Nieuws week 43 / nieuwe oorlog 2006 |
The Australian
14 October 2006
By Bruce Loudon
A controversial peace agreement with Taliban-supporting militants in the rugged frontier region of Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding, emerged yesterday as the blueprint for a possible accord with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Following this week's visit to Islamabad by General David Richards, NATO's commander of coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan, it appeared the US and Britain had authorised Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to attempt to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban.
Before going to Islamabad, it had been suggested General Richards was preparing for a showdown with President Musharraf over alleged Pakistani double-dealing with the Taliban and al-Qa'ida through its top spy agency, the ISI.
It had even been reported he would take with him the address in the Baluchistan capital of Quetta where Taliban leader Mullah Omar is living, and demand Pakistani forces arrest him.
But far from criticising General Musharraf, it appears the Pakistani leader's deal with Taliban-supporting tribal militants in the North Waziristan district of the North West Frontier Province could form the basis of an accord aimed at ending the insurgency and bringing the Taliban into the Government in Kabul.
From General Musharraf down, senior Pakistani officials are insisting that NATO is now supporting Islamabad's bid to reach a peace accord with the Taliban. Reports in New Delhi quoted General Richards as supporting the agreement with the Taliban in North Waziristan, saying it could set an example of how best to deal with such problems - dashing Indian hopes that NATO would not endorse Pakistan's strategy.
Reports said General Musharraf claimed that General Richards "absolutely agrees with the environment and my analysis, and he is asking for our help to do the same thing and we will proceed on the same course".
General Musharraf maintained that the North Waziristan strategy was "worth a try because there is no other way (than to reach an accommodation with the Taliban), and if we don't do anything, if we think that military will succeed, we are sadly mistaken. We will suffer".
The key elements of the North Waziristan deal have been strongly criticised by the Western media, but are now apparently accepted by Britain, the US and other governments that have contributed forces to the coalition fighting in Afghanistan.
South Asian strategists in New Delhi said it appeared that Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has been opposing efforts to bring the Taliban into his Government, had clearly not won the battle with General Musharraf on the issue.
Many of the elements of the North Waziristan accord, signed on September 5, could form the basis for a peace deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Under the North Waziristan arrangement, the Pakistan Government has agreed to stop air and ground attacks on tribal militants linked to the Taliban, withdraw the Pakistan army from key points, release captured militants and pay compensation for property damage and deaths of innocent civilians in the region.
NATO has 31,000 international troops fighting in Afghanistan, coming from 37 countries, including Australia.
Indian reports yesterday said that the US and Britain had "clearly bought General Musharraf's 'if you can't beat them, join them' argument by sanctioning a peace strategy".
The reports are significant because they suggest that winning against the Taliban amid the tribal culture of Afghanistan would be extremely difficult, even for a force as powerful and sophisticated as NATO's.
Down the years, all foreign armies that have sought to assert themselves in Afghanistan have left defeated. Strategists are apprehensive that NATO's effort could go the same way.
© The Australian
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