memri
April 1, 2009 Special Dispatch No. 2287

Afghan Intellectual: 'The New U.S. Administration Should Be Wary of the British and Saudi Negotiations with the Taliban – Which Mean Saving Pakistan at the Cost of Abandoning Afghanistan'

April 1, 2009
Afghanistan | Special Dispatch No. 2287

In recent months, the Afghan government has been holding secret talks with some Taliban leaders, mediated by Saudi Arabia and supported by the British government.

In an article published by the Afghan website www.quqnoos.com, Afghan intellectual Haroun Mir, co-director of the Kabul-based think tank AfghanistanCenter for Research and Policy Studies, examines the Saudi and British motives in holding these talks.

Following are some excerpts from the article, which was titled "The Motives Behind the Afghan Peace Talks": [1]


Following Defeat in Afghanistan, the Taliban Fled to Pakistan, and Received Assistance from Gulf Charities - And the U.S. Turned a Blind Eye

"The recent Saudi mediation efforts should be scrutinized by the U.S. before it endorses them, since the American interest in the region differs from that of Saudi Arabia and Britain.

"9/11 brought the U.S. to Afghanistan. Its initial objective of defeating the Taliban and eliminating the Al-Qaeda leadership was compromised by its underestimation of the importance of the foreign [Arab] support to the Taliban and overestimation of Pakistan's military cooperation in the war on terror.

"The Taliban, after being defeated by the American forces, escaped to Pakistan, where it found a safe haven. Additionally, it received financial assistance from a complex network of charities in the wealthy Gulf countries. President Bush, being busy with the war in Iraq, turned a blind eye to Pakistan's collaboration with the Taliban."

"The U.S.'s New Strategy of Hitting Terrorism at Its Source Has Frightened the Countries that Helped Create the Taliban"

"Recently, the U.S. military and intelligence services were able to convince the White House that terrorism could not be defeated in Afghanistan unless the U.S. wiped out its safe havens in Pakistan. Although Britain opposes any strikes against terrorist camps inside Pakistan, the U.S. military justifiably expanded its military operations across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. These operations have been positively assessed in Afghanistan.

"According to the Afghan Defense Ministry, the number of terrorist and insurgent attacks in Afghanistan has decreased by 40% since the U.S. started striking on Pakistani soil. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda terror network is [now] under increasing U.S. military pressure in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"The U.S.'s new strategy of hitting terrorism at its source has frightened the countries that helped create the Taliban in order to promote their political agenda in the region [namely, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia]."

Britain, with Its Two Million Pakistani Citizens, Fears Pakistan Collapsing - So It Prizes Stability in Pakistan, Opposes U.S. Strikes There, and Encourages Negotiations with the Taliban

"The prospect of Pakistan collapsing frightens the international community. Britain and Saudi Arabia are very concerned about the future of Pakistan, though for different reasons.

"Britain is home to more than two million Pakistanis. The London 7/7 attacks were planned and executed by British citizens of Pakistani origin, trained in the terrorist camps of Pakistan. Therefore, Britain greatly prizes stability in Pakistan, fearing that a collapse there would be too heavy a burden at home.

"Britain's knowledge of the Afghanistan and Pashtun tribal belt in Pakistan is outdated... The old Pashtun tribal structure vanished during the last three decades of conflict in Afghanistan. The current British effort of reaching out to the Taliban has already failed. Since the British forces moved to Helmand and began negotiating a secret truce with the Taliban, the situation in the province has only deteriorated further.

"The British enthusiasm to negotiate with the insurgents will only buy valuable time for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda to regroup and expand their operations in the relatively stable provinces of Afghanistan and Pakistan."

"For the Saudis, the Pakistani Military Has Always Been a Vital Ally, Since It has Offered Its Conventional andNuclear Arsenal as Protection for the [Saudi] Kingdom"

"For the Saudis, the Pakistani military has always been a vital ally, since it has offered its conventional and nuclear arsenal as protection for the Kingdom. In exchange, the Saudis have provided substantial financial assistance to the Pakistani military.

"Moreover, Riyadh believes that a radical Sunni movement such as the Taliban can serve as a natural foe in the region against Shi'ite Iran. Therefore, the Saudi kingdom was one of the three countries that recognized the Taliban's government in Kabul when it was established.

"The Saudis are not yet ready to disengage from their investment in the Taliban. A tolerant democracy in Afghanistan would contravene their conservative vision of Islam. In the recent decades, Riyadh has invested more money in religious madrassas than in the economic reconstruction of Afghanistan."

Saudi Arabia's Recent Involvement in the Afghanistan Peace Negotiations is Suspicious; "The New U.S. Administration Should Be Wary of Britain's and Saudi Arabia's Objective in the Region"

"That makes Saudi Arabia's recent involvement in the Afghanistan peace negotiations seem suspicious. After the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, it remained passive in Afghanistan and didn't offer its assistance to this country as it should have done as a leader of the Islamic world. The Afghans are not sure whether the Saudi's recent efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiation table are a genuine [drive towards peace] or a new strategy to nurture their protégé [the Taliban] in Afghanistan in preparation for NATO's withdrawal.

"The new U.S. administration should be wary of Britain's and Saudi Arabia's objective in the region, which is to save Pakistan at the cost of abandoning Afghanistan. While the rest of the world seems to have ceased caring about bringing the architects of 9/11 to justice, the U.S. government has a commitment to do so. In the process, it will save Afghanistan from the resurgence of the Taliban."

Endnote:

[1] www.quqnoos.com, December 3, 2008

Share this Report: