|
The Associated Press is not identifying U.S. officials involved in the direct talks in consideration of their safety. One member of the Taliban negotiating team has been publicly identified as Tayyab Aga, an emissary of Pakistan-based Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. Other participants include a former Taliban ambassador to Saudi Arabia and a former Taliban deputy health minister, the senior Afghan official said. The U.S. goal is to midwife talks between the insurgents and the U.S.-backed Afghan government led by Karzai, who frequently has felt sidelined by the U.S. as it pursues talks with his enemies. He bills peace talks as an Afghan-led process, which the U.S. insists is also its goal. The U.S. outreach is meant to jump-start negotiations, U.S. officials have said, but they acknowledge that their efforts can feed the perception that Karzai is not fully in charge. Although the Karzai government shares the goal of outreach and eventual political reconciliation with the Afghan Taliban movement, he resents the insurgents' demand only to speak with what they call American occupiers. He has argued that the U.S. undercuts his leverage, and his inner circle derailed initial U.S.-Taliban talks earlier this year, several officials previously told the AP. Karzai has supported the general idea of an office, preferably in Afghanistan, but he balked when the plan for Qatar appeared to have been settled without him, officials said. Earlier this month, Kabul recalled its ambassador to Qatar for consultations over reports that the Taliban was planning to open an office there. An Afghan official, who could not be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said at the time that the ambassador was recalled because Qatar had not consulted with them throughout the process. The Afghan government supports the establishment of an office for the Taliban only as a facilitative step in the peace process, not as any kind of a concession to them, the official said. On Tuesday, Karzai backed down. He said his government would accept the Qatar office to hold peace talks, although Saudi Arabia or Turkey would be preferable venues. If the United States insists that the insurgents establish a liaison office in Qatar, "we are agreed," Karzai said in a presidential statement. Karzai's preference for Saudi Arabia or Turkey over Qatar is based on his belief that the Saudis can be trusted and their status as an established Muslim power broker, the senior Afghan official said. Turkey is a neighbor of Afghanistan and already involved in international efforts to stabilize the country. Karzai and his inner circle think the tiny gas-rich Arab state of Qatar is not a strong Muslim country and is not particularly close to Afghanistan, the official said.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2011 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor