KABUL,
September 23 (IslamOnline.net) - The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
(C.I.A.) approached the ousted Taliban regime for negotiations to reach
a solution to the Afghan problem, a Taliban official told
IslamOnline.net Tuesday, September 23.
The
official, who requested anonymity, said the movement agreed "in
principle" to the U.S. request, but laid three conditions before
sitting on the negotiating table.
Taliban
demanded the "release of its members detained in (the U.S.-run
Cuba-based) Guntanamo Bay; removing Taliban from the U.S.-drawn terror
list and that the U.S. officially announces the existence of such
negotiations.
The
Taliban official, however, stopped short of stating the U.S. response to
the three conditions.
He
said the U.S.-proposed negotiations demonstrate the failure of the U.S.
military power, which could not stamp out the Afghan resistance and has
been bogged down in Afghanistan.
"Now
the U.S. wants a way out of the Afghan quagmire to save face," said
the Taliban official.
Meanwhile,
a senior official with the U.S.-installed Afghan government told IOL
Tuesday that the U.S. administration and the Afghan government of Hamid
Karzai wanted to get rid of the pro-Russia military wing of the northern
alliance led by Afghan Defense Minister Gen. Mohammad Faheem.
"The
U.S. administration and Karzai are convinced that Taliban is better than
Faheem's alliance," said the official, who wished not to be
identified.
He
further added that the U.S. wanted Taliban to be represented in the
Afghan government to woo the Pashtuns, who feel being discriminated
against.
The
government official charged the U.S. itself encouraged the Taliban
operations - through Afghanistan’s neighbors - to provide an excuse
for staying in the country.
Afghan
analysts say the U.S. has come to realize that Taliban is a movement to
be reckoned with, citing how the ousted regime succeeded in regrouping
and launching large-scale operations in the north and south of the
country.
They
expected that the U.S. would be able to include Taliban or part of the
movement in the Afghan government before the 2004 general elections.
