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US hints may put Al-Qaeda, not Taliban, in crosshairs
2009-10-08
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House said Thursday the Taliban posed less of a threat to US security than Al-Qaeda, raising speculation that President Barack Obama may decide against huge troop increases in Afghanistan. Officials involved in Obama's intense Afghan policy review argued that Al-Qaeda poses a grave danger to US interests and the American homeland while the Taliban, though hostile to US forces in Afghanistan, did not. The assessments seemed to differ with the view of war commander General Stanley McChrystal, who asked for up to 40,000 more troops and warned the counter-insurgency against the Taliban could fail without reinforcements. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who has ruled out any reduction in US forces in Afghanistan, said Obama had yet to make any firm decisions as he conducts an exhaustive Afghan policy review. But he said there was "clearly a difference" between the two groups, styling Al-Qaeda as an "entity that, through a global, transnational jihadist network, would seek to strike the US homeland." "I think that the Taliban are obviously exceedingly bad people that have done awful things. Their capability is somewhat different, though, on that continuum of transnational threats." Officials denied a policy shift, saying that as far back as March, Obama had made a distinction between core Taliban fighters allied with Al-Qaeda and forces loyal to local commanders who had been coerced or paid to fight. The United States and its allies launched air strikes eight years ago against the Taliban in Afghanistan, after it provided a haven for Osama bin Laden's network to plan the September 11 attacks in 2001. Gibbs's comments mirrored those of two senior officials in an interview with Thursday's New York Times, suggesting the new US Afghan plan may pour fresh firepower on Al-Qaeda rather than seek to wipe out the Taliban. One official was quoted as saying that Al-Qaeda, which is believed now to be largely based in Pakistan, posed a "murderous" threat to US security: "We want to destroy its leadership, its infrastructure and its capability." By contrast, the official described the Afghan Taliban as an indigenous group that wants to win back territory but does not itself pose a direct security threat to the United States. "When the two are aligned, it's mainly on the tactical front," the paper quoted the official as saying, arguing that Al-Qaeda had fewer than 100 fighters left in Afghanistan. Should Obama decide to refocus the fight against Al-Qaeda, he would have to rely heavily on US anti-terror ally Pakistan to help stamp out the group on its own territory and count on current or slightly increased US troop levels to keep Osama bin Laden's group from returning to Afghanistan. The United States has stepped up strikes by unmanned drones on top Al-Qaeda targets in lawless areas of Pakistan in recent months, and praised Islamabad's role in cracking down on militants. However, those who advocate a strong counter-insurgency believe any return to prominence by the Taliban would inevitably mean a new haven for Al-Qaeda. "The fact is, we all know if the Taliban comes back, Al-Qaeda will come back," Republican Senator John McCain said after a meeting at the White House on Tuesday. "I am very convinced that General McChrystal's analysis is not only correct but should be implemented as quickly as possible." Obama officials counter however that there is not current danger of the Taliban toppling the Afghan government, and say that the US goal is The White House comments on the Taliban came after the group said on Wednesday that it did not pose a direct threat to the United States. The announcement issued by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said its aim was "obtainment of independence and establishment of an Islamic system" in the country, and not to attack the West, according to the US-based SITE monitoring group. Obama may take up McChrystal's troop request as early as Friday in the next meeting of his top diplomatic, military and intelligence advisers on war policy in the secure White House Situation Room. The high-stakes policy review comes amid rising public doubt over the mission, a spike in US and NATO casualties and an increasingly tenacious insurgency.
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