Monday, March 21, 2005
Taliban to be ‘fractured’ by Afghan govt amnesty
* General Barno says offer allows Taliban to rejoin political process
KABUL: The Taliban insurgency will be “fractured” by an Afghan government amnesty offer to allow fighters to lay down their guns and rejoin the political process, the top commander of US troops in the country said on Sunday.
“Clearly this is something that will be attractive to large numbers of the Taliban ... it will actually have the effect of fracturing the entire Taliban terrorist organisation,” Lieutenant General David Barno told reporters at a ceremony to rename US-coalition headquarters in Kabul.
The Kabul Compound downtown in the Afghan capital was renamed Camp Eggers after Special Forces Captain Daniel Eggers who was killed in May 2004 in bomb attack in southern Afghanistan. “I think its too early to tell yet how the Taliban strengthening peace programme will directly affect our operations.
“President Karzai and the Afghan government when they make the official announcement of that, I think we’ll have to assess in the weeks and months to come what kind of impact it has,” Barno said.
Karzai and Afghan officials are currently in talks with members of the ousted regime toppled by the US in late 2001 after refusing to surrender Osama Bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks.
The government is expected to unveil details of the amnesty offer in coming weeks. Although there was a slump in attacks during the worst winter Afghanistan has seen for decade violence has spiked as the weather warms.
A US soldier was killed and three others wounded in a mine blast in western Afghanistan’s Shindand city Wednesday. Eight Afghan civilians were also killed in that attack.
At least five Afghan civilians were killed the following day and 32 others wounded when two bombs ripped through the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was visiting the country.
The US currently has over 18,000 troops in theatre as units are being replaced, Barno told reporters. Three US soldiers have so far been killed in hostile attacks this year compared with at least 29 in 2004.
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