Taliban and NATO "In Talks" to pull out of Several Areas

[GAP]

AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN AND NATO 'IN TALKS' TO PULL OUT OF SEVERAL AREAS
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.352346312&par=

Karachi, 23 Oct. (AKI) - (by Syed Saleem Shahzad) - Talks are underway between the Taliban and NATO forces - through tribal elders - over the pullout of troops from 12 districts along the Pakistan Afghan border, providing the Taliban make concessions to the NATO forces and agree not to attack their bases in those Afghan provinces where the deal is signed, North Waziristan-based sources told Adnkronos International (AKI). "So far all 12 districts are situated from Kandahar to Kunar, but later on there would be a consideration for other districts situated in Nangarhar province,” sources maintained.

A Taliban spokesperson, Mohammad Hanif, on Sunday said that both American and Afghan soldiers had pulled out of an area in eastern Afghanistan, under a deal clinched with tribal elders, the second in a week.

Hanif said that NATO forces and troops of the Afghan National Army had withdrawn from the Babrak Tana area in the Ali Sher district of the south-eastern province of Khost on Sunday night upon the mediation of tribal elders. The Taliban spokesperson referred to the alleged pull out as another major victory of the Taliban against NATO forces.

There has been no word of this alleged 'deal' from the NATO forces in Afghanistan.

A similar accord was struck between the Taliban and NATO forces through local tribal elders in the Musa Qala district in southern Helmand province. Under the agreement, British troops pulled out of the town on 17 October.
More on link

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Yes I am sure they will abide by the terms of the agreement just like they did with the latest agreement with Pakistan.  :

 

[ProPatria Mike]

Can't wait to hear Jack Layton rambling on over this..... not!

 

[Lost_Warrior]

I can see it now.  He will be yapping along about us "negotiating with terrorists" now... which is what he was calling for this whole time.  :

 

[HollywoodHitman]

None of the cease fire or truce agreements have ever been honoured by the enemy. Why start now?

 

[ProPatria Mike]

So, like civilized nations,  we can say we did before we kill em! 

                           

 

[Jacqueline]

... providing the Taliban make concessions to the NATO forces and agree not to attack their bases in those Afghan provinces where the deal is signed..

Can the Taliban be trusted?

 

[Colin Parkinson]

A hudna that would last to next spring no doubt.  :

 

[pipesnake]

Perhaps we could hear the thoughts on this from some of those who have been there?

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/11/14/delegation-afghanistan.html

 

[The Bread Guy]

A bit more from Canadian Press, shared with the usual disclaimer...

Support for Taliban grows in rural Afghanistan as villagers lose hope: elders
Sue Bailey, Canadian Press, via Canada.com, 14 Nov 06
Article Link

QALAT, Afghanistan (CP) - Five years after the Taliban's fall, tribal leaders from the sun-baked mud villages around Qalat, an ancient town east of Kandahar, say life isn't much better.

They enjoy neither peace nor the benefits of new development, they say. And they blame the growing popularity of violent anti-government militants on the failure of international forces to keep their word. "There is no security here," says Neamat Khan, 35, director of a local construction agency.

He made the comments at the base for the local Provincial Reconstruction Team where members of the United Nations Security Council met local elders Tuesday.

The visit to gauge progress and plot strategy is the council's first trip to Afghanistan in three years.

Promised roads, wells, schools and medical clinics have been slow in coming, especially in the isolated rural areas where they are arguably most needed.

"Day by day, support for the Taliban is increasing," said Khan, his blue eyes intense and a long turban draped over his shoulder.

The bleak assessment hardly matches much rosier scenes drawn by NATO commanders in recent weeks. Coalition leaders have repeatedly stressed that the South is increasingly safe, the Taliban is on the run, and aid projects are on track.

UN Security Council spokesman Adrian Edwards seemed to back the local viewpoint.

"Security this year has certainly got worse," he said.

Suicide bombings and roadside blasts have soared, while the national opium trade - supplier of much of the world's heroin - broke records.

Edwards quickly noted that Afghanistan has made obvious progress in the last five years "from less than zero." There is now an elected government, a new constitution, hundreds of new schools and wells, and long stretches of freshly paved highway.

But the battle for the "hearts and minds" of local people is being lost, says Khan.

Villagers are increasingly bitter over the rate at which young men are mistakenly rounded up as insurgent suspects and detained by foreign troops, he said.

"People are very angry about this."

Hundreds of civilians in the South have also been displaced from their homes and vineyards flattened by NATO bombings in recent combat missions.

"In general, people are not happy with the United Nations or NATO," said Khan.

Farmer and tribal elder Hakim Khan says foreign troops should woo local support by diverting huge sums away from military operations and into local projects. Clean water, improved roads and better salaries for Afghan security forces would go farther to bolster government support, he suggests.

Dutch Maj.-Gen. Ton Van Loon recognizes that battle-fatigued Afghans are sick of fighting after almost three decades.

But troops can't pack up just yet, he said.

"We cannot accept insurgents taking control," and sabotaging aid efforts, Van Loon said.

"If we need to fight the Taliban, we will fight the Taliban. There is no doubt whatsoever about that."

Still, Van Loon said it's "crucially important" that momentum shift from combat to reconstruction.

Also vital is the involvement of anyone who is committed to building a democratic Afghanistan, he added. Even former Taliban should be included if they've genuinely changed tack, he said.

"What they've been in the past, to me, is less relevant. We need to talk to the Afghans."

Local guidance is indispensable in a notoriously complex political realm. NATO forces must be ever wary when acting on tips to avoid being used as pawns in time-honoured tribal feuds.

"They are the experts," Van Loon said of local elders. "We are like the blind boxer. We can hit very hard, but they will need to talk to us to make sure that we hit the right targets."

 

[GAP]

I don't doubt the sincerity of most of the Afghan speakers, but this needs to be put into context.

These are local Afghans wanting something from the UN, NATO, whoever....but they have their own meager agenda and their comments reflect that.

Where were these people when NATO needed to know where the Taliban were hiding?

If NATO leaves....how much better off is he/she?

What are they doing now and in the future to assist in securing the area so that Reconstruction can go on?

 

[m410]

If NATO leaves....how much better off is he/she?

As if any Afghan women were consulted in the two articles above!

 

[North Star]

Don't villagers who get detained and then released get 100USD for their time?