A rchive Date
[ 05-03-2005 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Afghanistan ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSAttack0112/26_kar-ap.html
Karzai says terrorism 'defeated'
By NAHLAH AYED-- The Canadian Press
Wednesday, December 26, 2005
KABUL, Afghanistan (CP) -- Terrorism in Afghanistan has essentially been eliminated, says the country's new interim prime minister, but the government wants the United States to stay until the job is completely done.
Four days after they were sworn in, Hamid Karzai and his ministers reported some progress on efforts to turn the country around, adding that an anticipated multinational peacekeeping force will likely be in the country soon.
Karzai said that although al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has yet to be caught, the campaign against his network, which began with U.S. military strikes back in October, has largely been successful.
"Some may be still here, but I don't think they are in large numbers. I think that terrorism is largely defeated in Afghanistan," Karzai told The Associated Press.
"There are remnants in the form of individuals or small groups. Those should be looked for and arrested and put to trial.
"With regards to Osama bin Laden, I don't know where he is," Karzai said. "We receive reports now and then that he may be here or there, and if we get a detailed report about his whereabouts, we will certainly go after him and arrest him."
Karzai made the comments following his second meeting with his cabinet since the government took power Saturday.
The cabinet approved a plan to appoint a commission to look into reconstruction of the decimated country, and another to find ways to fight the trafficking and use of narcotics.
Karzai's foreign minister also reported progress on protracted talks to implement a multinational peacekeeping force in the country, adding that the delay in decision-making could not be attributed to disagreements about the details.
Though the security situation is improving in Kabul and the rest of the country, both bin Laden -- believed to be responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States -- and Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar, are still at large.
Karzai said U.S. troops are still needed in Afghanistan to hone in on any Taliban or al-Qaida remnants left in the country.
"They need to fight terrorism right now physically inside Afghanistan, to bring them out of their hideouts and to deliver them to justice, to international justice and to Afghan justice," he said.
Later, Karzai's foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, went further, saying that the Americans may remain as long as is required to get the job done.
The Americans can leave "when the objective of eradication of terrorism and the elimination of the Taliban bases and Taliban forces is accomplished," he told a news conference late Wednesday.
"It might not be that long, but I think the objective should be fully accomplished... We don't want to see the job half-done."
A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, Kenton Keith, said Wednesday that U.S. military action in Afghanistan will continue to deal with the remaining pockets of resistance, which are mostly in eastern Afghanistan.
Neither Karzai nor Abdullah knew precisely the whereabouts of either Omar or bin Laden. Karzai did say he has received reports that Omar is in the southwest of Afghanistan. He has asked his loyalists to look for him in the area and arrest him.
On Wednesday, Pakistani officials said they had arrested more than 40 Afghans in Karachi with possible ties to bin Laden and Omar.
Abdullah said that in his opinion, Taliban or al-Qaida followers accused of perpetrating crimes in the last five years should be the subject of a criminal war tribunal.
"This is my personal wish, to see all the war criminals, those who have committed crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, that they should be brought to justice -- regardless of which side they're on," he said.
In Kabul, armed Afghan soldiers remained on the streets despite an agreement in Bonn last month that militias disarm when peacekeeping troops entered the country.
Last week, dozens of British troops arrived in Kabul, and maintained a presence around the presidential palace and in the city to help keep the peace.
Abdullah said the final details of the international peacekeeping force are still being worked out -- but that there were no major disagreements.
He added that the force should not be limited to any one area, and that they should be deployed to any places in the country where they are needed.
Canada is on the ready with 1,000 troops in Edmonton who could be deployed within seven days if asked.
However, sources have recently suggested that Canadians may end up only offering communications specialists and engineers to the peacekeeping effort being developed under the auspices of the United Nations.
A decision on the Canadian contribution could come within days, Gen. Ray Henault, chief of the defence staff, said on Christmas Eve.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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