Posted on 10/16/2001 7:43:35 PM PDT by Enlightiator
I stumbled onto a very interesting story about the Afghan foreign minister meeting secretly with the Pakistan intellegence chief prior to Powells visit. Shortly thereafter, I saw this Debka file post, Secret Afghanistan Ceasefire Bid Deadlocks. I normally dismiss Debka as a source, but it looks like this one is on target to a large degree. Reviewing Fox, Pakistan Internation News, and the Frontier Post articles, it does indeed look like the Powell Fix is in - "moderate" Taliban would be allowed to be part of the new Afghan government. The only question appears to be how many Taliban/Al Qaeda (they are one and the same) military personnel will die before they hand over Bin Laden (or we get to him first) and whether the US will strike an agreement before we truly destroy the Al Queda network.
I post this as breaking news, since the importance of the Powell/Pakistan ISI/Afghan foreign minister discussions tell the story of the strategy, and CNN and other outlets have not done this story justice. Fox is on it though:
CNN: New Policy Toward Taliban: Divide and Conquer
[Excerpts]
Former [Afghan] king Zahir Shah, political leaders, moderate Taliban leaders, elements from the [opposition] Northern Alliance, tribal elders, Afghans living outside their country ... all can play a role in this government," Musharraf said, repeating a long-held Pakistani government position that the Taliban, erstwhile Pakistani allies, cannot be left out of discussions.
Powell followed Musharraf's remarks by clearly differentiating between the Taliban leadership and the movement's larger membership, suggesting there was room for moderates in discussions with the U.S.
"The term 'Taliban' defines the current regime," Powell said. "But it also defines a group of individuals or group of people. If you got rid of the regime, there [would] still be those who might find [that] the teachings and feelings and beliefs of that movement are still very important, and to the extent that they are willing to participate in the development of a new Afghanistan."
Powell said later in the press conference that all groups "have to have an opportunity to participate" in the forming of a new government in Afghanistan, indicating a shift in U.S. policy, which had previously made little effort to differentiate among Taliban ranks.
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Also see this story from Pakistan News International:
US agrees to include moderate Taliban in broad-based Kabul govt
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And here is confirmation of the Pakistan Intelligence ISI secret meeting with the Afghan foreign minister, from The Frontier Post:
Muttawakil seeks respite in US attacks holds parleys with DG ISI
ISLAMABAD: The Afghan Foreign Minister on a secret visit to Pakistan that was denied by both Pakistan and Afghan embassy here had a one-and-a-half hour meeting with the Director General of ISI Lt-Gen Ihsan ul Haq, Monday.
The Afghan Foreign Minister who arrived here in the wee hours on Monday met the Pakistani intelligence chief ahead of US Secretray of State Colin Powell's visit to Pakistan.
Sources privy to the activities of Mutawakil said that the Afghan foreign minister asked DG of ISI to intervene and negotiate some sort of settlement with USA.
Reportedly what he wanted was that US should allow some break in the air strikes so that moderate Taliban leadership could regroup and request Mulla Omar to reconsider his policies.
A considerable number of moderate Taliban leaders are of the opinion that hard line policies of Mulla Omar have led Afghanistan to a disastrous situation.
These leaders think that they can ask Mulla Omer to reconsider his policies.
Some of the sources claimed that Mutawakil had left for UAE after his meeting in Islamabad.
However, other sources insisted that he was still in Islamabad and would go back to Afghanistan.
Muttawakil has been projected by some people as a moderate leader within Taliban.
Mr. President - when Powell returns, please ignore his usual weak concessionary proposals and stick with your October 7th Address to the Nation:
"We will not waiver, we will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail."
This foolishness says it all. Moderate Taliban! What a joke.
This foolishness says it all. Moderate Taliban! What a joke.
About like moderate SS NAZIs.
Dalebert, what exactly got shot down in the news conference you saw? Powell was in Pakistan at some risk to life for a reason, and it ain't to drop bombs, lol....
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/STRIKE_MAIN.html
U.S., Pakistan Agree on Role of Taliban Moderates; More Heavy Air Attacks
Oct. 16 — Secretary of State Colin Powell and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf closed in on an agreement today over the kind of coalition they hope can replace Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, before Powell departed to shore up relations with India.
On the military front, the United States brought yet another part of its arsenal to the skies over Afghanistan today, in the form of at least one Air Force Special Forces AC-130 gunship that blasted Taliban positions in the southern city of Kandahar. And with Powell standing at his side, Musharraf added today that Pakistan will unconditionally continue its support of the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign, from allowing use of its airspace to sharing intelligence with the United States.
"We certainly will carry on cooperating so long as the operation lasts," Musharraf said at a news conference at the presidential palace.
Taliban Moderates in the Fold?
When it comes to creating a new government, assuming the ruling Taliban forces are overthrown, Powell and Musharraf agreed that a broad coalition should represent Afghans — which could mean the United States would agree to let Taliban moderates have a future role in the country.
Besides, what could POSSIBLY go wrong?
Exactly, lol. And hopefully, GW Bush will ignore Powell just as his dad did. As a matter of fact, with the number of bombs dropping, he's doing so for now....
The General's War, pg. 327
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