On July 20, a major international conference on Afghanistan, which was attended by foreign ministers and diplomats from over 70 countries, endorsed Afghan President Hamid Karzai's initiative with regard to the Taliban in Afghanistan. A communiqué issued at the end of the conference said: "Participants welcomed and endorsed in principle the Afghan government's peace and reintegration program."[1]
According to a report on the website of the Pakistani daily The News, the communiqué noted that the peace plan is directed at those militants "who renounce violence, have no links to international terrorist organizations, respect the constitution, and are willing to join in building a peaceful Afghanistan."[2]
Addressing the conference, President Karzai said that Afghan security forces will take over full responsibility for maintaining security in Afghanistan by 2014. According to a report on the Afghan website tolonews.com, he said, "I remain determined that our Afghan national security forces will be responsible for all military and law enforcement operations throughout our country by 2014."[3]
On July 21, the Taliban said that the Kabul Conference does not portend any kind of benefit, adding that the decisions which were taken in the conference will only prolong the war in Afghanistan.[4] According to a report in the Dari-language newspaper Roznama Cheragh, the Taliban said the conference has helped in the "implementation of the U.S.'s satanic programs in Afghanistan."[5]
On July 21, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban's shadow government) also issued a statement, urging the international community not to blindly endorse the U.S.'s "useless and blind plans" in Afghanistan. Excerpts of the statement were published by the Peshawar-based newspaper The Frontier Post.[6] Accusing the Karzai government of being a "slave" to the U.S. interests in Afghanistan, the Taliban statement said that despite its incompetence, the Kabul government has been "imposed on Afghans by the Americans."
Following are excerpts from the Taliban statement:[7]
"The Conference Shows that the International Community would Leave Afghanistan and Hold the Powerless Kabul Administration Responsible for the Upcoming Destruction"
"The conference was organized by the international community on the pretext to hand over military, administrative, and economic matters to the slave Kabul administration days after the officials of the finance department of the same administration announced that over 40 billion dollars were smuggled through Kabul Airport in three years.
"Similarly, an anti-corruption organization reported that officials of the Karzai administration robbed Afghans of one billion dollar in the past one year...
"Besides the financial embezzlement, the military and security situation of this administration has reached such a level that its head [President Hamid Karzai] could not travel by road in Kabul despite the presence of 150,000 foreign troops. No government writ could be seen in Kabul...
"Despite that 12,000 Afghan and foreign troops were deployed by the Americans for the security of the daylong conference [on Tuesday], mujahideen were able to fire rockets at Kabul airport and proved their military strength...
"The international community admitted that the... military and economic affairs would be handed over to the failed administration...
"The useless Kabul conference showed that the U.S. has lost the initiative to find a solution to the Afghanistan issue, and any effort being made in the name of a solution to the problem has already failed in the past. Anything they are doing on this pretext is proving to be the cause of the prolonging of the problems and involving the foreigners. These are the things that Afghans do not want. It would intensify the resistance...
"The confused and unidentified target of the conference shows that the international community would leave Afghanistan and hold the powerless Kabul administration responsible for the upcoming destruction and failure...
"By making useless efforts like the Kabul conference, the Americans want to divert the international community's attention from their defeat in Afghanistan, not to bring an end to the problems of Afghanistan..."
Endnotes:
[4] Roznama Cheragh (Afghanistan), July 22, 2010.
[5] Roznama Cheragh (Afghanistan), July 22, 2010.
[6] The Frontier Post (Pakistan), July 22, 2010.
[7] The Frontier Post (Pakistan), July 22, 2010. The text of the statement has been lightly edited for clarity.
