KABUL // Militants will respond with a surge of their own if more Nato and US troops are deployed to Afghanistan, according to a senior member of the former Taliban government. Thousands of additional soldiers are due to arrive here next year amid growing concerns at a deteriorating security situation that has seen the level of violence reach new heights.
Mullah Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil, foreign minister in the former regime, warned that the boost in numbers could cripple any steps towards reaching a political settlement with the rebels. "If the Americans send more soldiers to Afghanistan this will not solve the problems. Look, Iraq is getting better and now there is just one battleground. So if the Americans send more troops, then more people will come from other countries to fight them as well," he said in an interview with The National.
Mr Mutawakil first served as a spokesman for Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban leader, before becoming his foreign minister. Four months after the US-led invasion he turned himself in and spent almost two years in US custody. He is now kept under close watch at his home in Kabul and, despite obvious sympathies, has no official links to the insurgency. "There was not another way for the people who are fighting," he said. "If there was a peaceful way, they would have chosen it."
Faint hopes of an end to the war were set in motion by a meeting in Saudi Arabia last month between representatives of the Afghan government and associates of the Taliban and a breakaway faction of Hizb-e-Islami, two of the main rebel groups. Mr Mutawakil was among those present, but he categorically denied that any negotiations had taken place. While calling the gathering a "positive" move, he warned there were huge obstacles to overcome if peace was ever to be achieved.
Prince Saud al Faisl of Saudi Arabia confirmed on Tuesday the country had hosted a meeting between the Afghans and Taliban. Civilian casualties and widespread corruption had caused many people to join the insurgency, Mr Mutawakil claimed. The Taliban and al Qa'eda had also formed a stronger alliance, so the world must make a greater effort to split them and acknowledge their differences. "It is not possible to kill all the Taliban who are in the community. They have to negotiate with them because they are also part of Afghanistan," he said. At a recent press conference, Afghanistan's minister of defence described this year's fighting as the "worst" since 2001. Gen Abdul Rahim Wardak blamed some of the violence on a growing number of foreign militants who are "better equipped than before" and had come here because of the improving situation in Iraq. Mr Mutawakil said al Qa'eda had gone from being guests under the old Taliban regime to being regarded as partners on the battlefield. He said any peace deal must be brokered by Afghans only, with foreign supporters of the insurgency and the government excluded from the final process. For the short and medium-term at least, an end to the bloodshed seems highly improbable and security is likely to get significantly worse. At least 17 civilians were reported killed during an air strike in the southern province of Helmand last week, and on Monday the Taliban claimed responsibility for killing a British aid worker in Kabul. There have been public acknowledgements from sections of the international community that peace talks will have to take place eventually, but force rather than diplomacy is the method of choice in the meantime. The US commander of the Nato-led alliance here has asked for an increase of 15,000 troops and Barack Obama, the front-runner in the US presidential race, has pledged to go much of the way towards meeting that demand. Both he and John McCain, his rival, still talk about defeating the Taliban. As far as Mr Mutawakil is concerned, that is a recipe for a disaster. "This is why the Taliban think a game is being played, and they do not believe the government," he said. "From one side, they are being told the Afghan government wants peace. From another side, the international countries are sending more soldiers and the government says 'welcome'." csands@thenational.ae
