British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw today outlined principles for rebuilding Afghanistan once military action against the ruling Taliban ends.
Straw warned that when military action is over in Afghanistan, the international community should commit itself to the country's long-term reconstruction, which could take five to 10 years. "We have to be ready to bear the cost, because if we do not, the price we will pay will be far greater," he said. "We will pay it in more terrorist atrocities, more lives lost and more economies disrupted."
Straw said reconstruction should be based on four principles: that the future of Afghanistan be "in the hands of the people of Afghanistan themselves;" that a global coalition rebuild the country; that the United Nations take the lead in this; and that the coalition make a long-term commitment (Agence France-Presse, Oct. 22).
Straw also said that U.N. peacekeepers may be needed in Afghanistan once the U.S.-led military action underway now is over.
"Troops, whether blue helmets or as part of a multinational force, could be required to protect civilians and provide security so that the U.N. could do its work," he said in a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He said non-Taliban Afghan troops could be used for peacekeeping as well (AFP II, Oct. 22).
Afghanistan's ambassador to the United Nations, Ravan Farhadi, said Saturday that the next Afghan government could include moderate members of the Taliban, a turnabout from a statement he made last week to the U.S. State Department adamantly opposing U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's suggestion of possible involvement of moderate elements of the Taliban.
"The Taliban have given not only shelter to (Osama) bin Laden, but they facilitated his international terroristic acts," Farhadi said. "We don't agree with Mr. Powell because we think that the Taliban leaders ... need to be (on) trial in a court."
Farhadi clarified his feelings Saturday by saying there could be room for some moderate Taliban members, but only those found innocent of crimes against Afghan citizens, though he specified that the name "Taliban" could no longer be used in any future government (Dunstan Prial, Associated Press/Nando Times, Oct. 21).
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin threw his support behind deposed Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani today, promising to provide military and other support to the "legitimate government." Putin signed a joint statement early today with Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov and Rabbani on "the need to find a political solution in Afghanistan."
"All the ethnic groups should take part in forming the next Afghan government" and that process should involve a stronger role for the United Nations "and all foreign governments," the three officials said in a statement. Putin later added, "Russia has long supported the legitimate government of Afghanistan and confirms its desire to offer it military, technical and humanitarian support" (AFP III, Oct. 22).
Opposition Northern Alliance and U.S. officials have also been in discussions about nation-building strategies with the former king of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah. One possibility under consideration is a 120-member Supreme Council, with half of its members appointed by the alliance and half proposed by the king.
Martha Brill Olcott, senior associate for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, says the United States is very aware of the importance of not leaving a power vacuum behind in Afghanistan once the Taliban falls from power, but that even policy planners are still uncertain what will take the regime's place. "Until the Taliban is more close to collapse, no one knows how the pieces are going to fit back together. We are in the intelligence void, and will have to wait and see" (Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 22).
European Union foreign affairs chief Javier Solana also met last night in Rome with Shah to discuss the possible formation of a post-Taliban coalition government, a source told AFP (AFP/Cyberpresse.ca, Oct. 21, UN Wire translation).
According to Pakistan's Foreign Office, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan telephoned President Pervez Musharraf and recommended that he visit New York during the Nov. 10-16 U.N. General Assembly session, where the Afghanistan situation is expected to dominate negotiations. Foreign Office spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan said Saturday that under the present conditions, it will take time for the president to decide on whether to take an overseas visit, and whether or not he will attend is under consideration (Hasan Akhtar, Dawn, Oct. 21).
Pakistan also confirmed yesterday that its government is holding talks with a senior Taliban commander on the composition of a future government in Afghanistan, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from the Northern Alliance (Willis Witter, Washington Times, Oct. 21).
U.K. Ambassador to the United Nations Jeremy Greenstock, chairman of the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring the implementation of the U.N. counterterrorism resolution adopted in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, told reporters Friday that work by the panel is progressing satisfactorily.
"The point of all this exercise is to the establish the highest common denominator of action against terrorism in every territory of members of the United Nations for the long-term," Greenstock said. "We are there to help the world system upgrade its capability to deny space, money, support (and) haven to terrorism, and to establish a network of information sharing and cooperative executive action" (U.N. Newservice, Oct. 19).
Meanwhile, UNESCO's General Conference, currently in session in Paris, Saturday adopted a resolution on terrorism, expressing its "sorrow and indignation at the tragic events of 11 September 2001 in the United States of America" and affirming that "acts of terrorism can never be justified whatever the motives" (UNESCO release, Oct. 20).
The Taliban is calling the first battle with U.S. ground forces a "failure" for U.S. troops (Witter, Washington Times). In a new phase of the U.S. campaign against Afghanistan, U.S. ground forces mounted a helicopter and gunship assault in southern Afghanistan Friday night, according to military officials, who said that more than 100 Army Rangers and other special forces swarmed at least one military target near Kandahar, the spiritual headquarters of the Taliban and of Taliban supreme leader Mohamed Omar.
Two American military personnel lost their lives in a helicopter accident related to the mission, the Pentagon said. Military officials also suggested that the raid was not the only mission being conducted, suggesting that covert operations against other classified targets may also have taken place (Schmitt/Myers, New York Times, Oct. 20).
American troops skirmished with the Taliban for the first time, and the Taliban said its troops were able to respond immediately when the ground forces landed. "The Taliban force reached the area at once and started firing and the American forces had to run away," said senior Taliban official Ameer Khan Mutaqi in Kabul. "As the air strikes were unable to produce any results and were a failure, so were the ground strikes a failure" (Witter, Washington Times).
"I can say this," he added. "The commando attack failed. I think we hit one of the helicopters, but I'm not sure. The important thing is that they faced defeat." The Taliban claimed that the United States was calling the downing of the helicopter an accident so it wouldn't damage the morale of the troops. U.S. defense officials maintained the incident was an accident, saying the helicopter was there to provide emergency assistance to the commandos and had not entered Afghan air space. Neither version of the events had been verified as of yesterday (John Pomfret, Washington Post, Oct. 21).
The Taliban today allowed a CNN crew to videotape parts of what it said was wreckage from the helicopter shot down by Taliban forces, allegations that a senior U.S. military official called "the Taliban lie."
"Any claims that they shot a helicopter down are false," said U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers (CNN.com, Oct. 22).
Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman also said today that U.S. forces have been using chemical and biological weapons during the campaign against Afghanistan, though it has not been independently confirmed (Reuters/South China Morning Post, Oct. 22). In other news, an Afghan doctor confirmed yesterday that the 10-year-old son of the Taliban supreme leader has died of injuries following U.S. bombings of Kandahar (BBC Online, Oct. 21).
In a direct appeal to combat the United States, a letter apparently signed by Taliban National Security Minister Qari Amadullah urges commanders of the Northern Alliance to defect and join the fight to expel U.S. and British forces. The letter is considered the first hard evidence that the Taliban is attempting to win over members of the Northern Alliance to its side.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials are hopeful that they can encourage defections from within the Taliban regime, while Northern Alliance officials are working to persuade Taliban commanders to defect (Dexter Filkins, New York Times, Oct. 21). The Taliban has insisted that it will continue to wage a strong campaign against U.S. forces on the ground and that its ranks remain united and in control (Rory McCarthy, London Guardian, Oct. 20).
The Taliban have again insisted that the regime will not hand over suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden, considered by the United States to be the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Taliban Ambassador Abdul Salam Zaeef said on his return to Islamabad, "On the issue of Osama we have no change. Osama is an Islamic issue and a faith issue and we are not going to change our faith for anyone" (BBC Online, Oct. 19).
Senior U.S. government officials said that last month, President George W. Bush signed an intelligence order directing the CIA to undertake its most sweeping and lethal covert action since the agency has been in existence, explicitly calling for bin Laden and his terrorist al-Qaeda network to be destroyed.
"The gloves are off," one senior official said. "The president has given the agency the green light to do whatever is necessary. Lethal operations that were unthinkable pre-September 11 are now under way" (Bob Woodward, Washington Post, Oct. 21).
The United States and its key allies are still intercepting communications among associates of bin Laden that suggest more terrorist attacks are in the works. Intelligence officials from six countries in the Middle East and Europe say they are uncertain whether the attacks will be biological, chemical or explosive in nature, but that they believe a second, and possibly a third wave of attacks, are being devised (Bonner/Tagliabue, New York Times, Oct. 21).
Meanwhile, a BBC investigation has revealed that the United Nations donated money for educational and social development programs to a charity that may have been acting as a front organization for bin Laden, according to the United States. In 1997, the United Nations donated more than $1.4 million to a consortium of charity groups in Sudan, one of which was the Muwafaq Foundation. The U.S. Treasury, however, believes the charity was set up by wealthy businessman Yasin al-Qadi, and then used by rich Saudi executives to channel millions of dollars to bin Laden. Al-Qadi has denied any wrongdoing (BBC Online, Oct. 20).
EU leaders in Ghent, Belgium, Friday declared their unanimous support for U.S. military strikes on Afghanistan and declared the annihilation of al-Qaeda a legitimate goal under international law. The leaders also pledged a massive aid and reconstruction program for Afghanistan once the Taliban regime has been removed from power and replaced by a stable government.
"We expressed our firmest support for the military operations which began on Oct. 7 and we declared that these operations are legitimate under the United Nations charter," said Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt.
French President Jacques Chirac said the world must also look beyond efforts to remove the Taliban. "The Taliban regime must be replaced," Chirac said. "The Afghans must create a stable, representative government that prevents the resurgence of terrorism from their territory" (William Drozdiak, Washington Post, Oct. 20).
In Brussels Saturday, foreign ministers, deputies and other officials from nearly 40 countries, those from the EU as well as former Soviet republics Russia, Ukraine and Moldova -- which were invited for the first time "in view of the importance of the subject" -- adopted a declaration offering "wholehearted support" for the U.S.-led campaign. They also agreed to spare no effort in cutting off funding for terrorist groups and studying ways to share information on terrorist network operations around the world.
"We have created a European coalition against terrorism, with the EU taking the lead," said EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen (CNN.com, Oct. 20).
Meanwhile, economic leaders from 20 Asia-Pacific countries yesterday condemned "in the strongest terms" the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, but stopped short of explicitly offering support for the U.S.-led campaign against the Taliban. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum agreed, however, to increase efforts to block funding to terrorist groups and called for improved security measures and measures to bring the perpetrators to justice. "Leaders consider the murderous deeds ... as a profound threat to the peace, prosperity and security of all people," the formal communique said (Baker/Kynge, Financial Times, Oct. 22).
U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is seeking $60 million to establish a National Center for Combating Terrorism at the Nevada Test Site, the Chicago Tribune reported today.
The center would train thousands of rescuers from around the country who would be the first to respond to an attack using weapons of mass destruction. The center would also develop technology to improve the U.S. ability to detect the presence of chemical and biological weapons.
The Nevada Test Site, home of U.S. nuclear testing, is permitted by federal law to release certain toxic chemicals as part of an effort to improve emergency planning, making it a logical place to conduct training with toxic materials.
“We wouldn’t release [the nerve gas] sarin, but we can release a chemical with the same properties as sarin,” said James Barrett, senior adviser for national security in the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration. “We’re the only site in the country that the government allows to do this,” he said (Dion Haynes, Chicago Tribune, Oct. 22).
| 
Back to top
