Cheers, Ken Hanly
US tones down war talk
CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
ASHINGTON: After a fortnight of bellicose and anger-driven talk of war and retribution following the terrorist carnage, the United States has toned down its rage and rhetoric, indicating that it may restrict its action to small surgical strikes aimed at Osama bin Laden and his terrorist camps. Washington is also suggesting it is not interested in toppling governments and may even allow the Taliban to continue ruling Afghanistan if it hands over Osama bin Laden and closes down the terrorist camps.
The new line of thinking is a triumph for Secretary of State Colin Powell against hawks in the administration who initially convinced President Bush that he should hit hard against bin Laden, the Taliban, and any country seen remotely to be promoting terrorism or harbouring terrorists and their camps.
But Powell has advocated a more restrained line of action, warning about the consequences of waging a larger war that may roil the Islamic world. He has also stressed the need to build a consensus among allies and using diplomacy in concert with -- if not ahead of -- force.
In some ways, Powell has diluted the strong and uncompromising message President Bush delivered last week, including indications that the US would decimate the universally-despised regime in Afghanistan. In talk shows over the weekend, Powell backed down from such a threat saying, "With respect to the nature of the regime in Afghanistan, that is not uppermost in our minds right now."
"I'm not going to say that it has become one of the objectives of the United States government to either remove or put in place a different regime," the Secretary of State said, expressing hope that the Taliban would "come to its senses" and send Osama bin Laden out of the country. Bush endorsed the line of thinking on Tuesday saying pretty much the same thing.
The Powell doctrine of restraint and limited warfare has come in for criticism from conservatives who are already talking of how the secretary of state is winning the battle within the government. Until a few weeks back, the chatter in the administration was about how Powell was being eclipsed by vice-president Dick Cheney and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
The new policy of offering a window of opportunity to the Taliban also appears to have several objectives. The first of this is a transparent attempt to bring about a rift between the Taliban and Osama bin Laden; or even within the Taliban between those sworn to bin Laden and those who don't care much for him. Already, there are reports from Afghanistan that several Taliban fighters are defecting to the Northern Alliance.
By not striking out against the Taliban, Washington also appears to be paying heed to the plea of its rediscovered ally Pakistan, which has come out strongly against toppling its repugnant poster-child.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar on Tuesday warned United States and its allies in the anti-terrorism coalition against taking sides in the Afghanistan conflict, saying the Afghan people "are fiercely protective of their independence and...have never acquiesced to a proxy government imposed on them from the outside."
''We are concerned to read news that Afghan groups are asking for foreign military assistance,'' Sattar said Tuesday at a press conference with a European Union delegation. ''We fear any such decision on the part of a foreign power to give assistance to one side or the other is a recipe for great suffering for the people of Afghanistan.''
The statement was clearly aimed at preserving Pakistan's own equity in Afghanistan through the Taliban, which it founded, funded, and helped take over and retain Kabul. Russia, India and Iran among other countries have backed the rebel Northern Alliance its more broad-based allies.