US reassessing Taliban and Al Qaida links
source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/12/hillary-clinton-taliban-al-qaida
-
-
- bansheewail
- added this
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said today Karzai had been "very helpful on many fronts", and progress in Afghanistan was often "overlooked". But she said that if he were returned to office, there would have to be "a new relationship" between Karzai and foreign governments.
Clinton, who is visiting Britain, also said the Obama administration was reassessing the relationship between the Taliban and al-Qaida, but denied any change of strategy on Afghanistan had occurred.
Her comments came after reports that the president's security advisers were pressing him to shift the focus of the war from the Taliban in Afghanistan to al-Qaida in Pakistan. The Taliban issued a statement last week claiming they posed no international threat, in an apparent attempt to put daylight between themselves and al-Qaida.
Asked whether the US was changing its focus, Clinton told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are not changing our strategy: our strategy remains to achieve the goal of disrupting, dismantling and defeating al-Qaida and its extremist allies and denying them safe haven and the chance to strike us here in London, in New York and anywhere else."
But she added: "We are doing a much more careful analysis of who is actually allied with al-Qaida. Not everyone who calls himself a Taliban is necessarily a threat to the UK or the US."
Clinton, who is visiting Britain, also said the Obama administration was reassessing the relationship between the Taliban and al-Qaida, but denied any change of strategy on Afghanistan had occurred.
Her comments came after reports that the president's security advisers were pressing him to shift the focus of the war from the Taliban in Afghanistan to al-Qaida in Pakistan. The Taliban issued a statement last week claiming they posed no international threat, in an apparent attempt to put daylight between themselves and al-Qaida.
Asked whether the US was changing its focus, Clinton told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are not changing our strategy: our strategy remains to achieve the goal of disrupting, dismantling and defeating al-Qaida and its extremist allies and denying them safe haven and the chance to strike us here in London, in New York and anywhere else."
But she added: "We are doing a much more careful analysis of who is actually allied with al-Qaida. Not everyone who calls himself a Taliban is necessarily a threat to the UK or the US."
-
- groups:
- Community, Current Tonight, KeepitRealAmerica
-
- tags:
- News, News and Politics, Obama, Iraq, 6 more
-
-
larrysnotes
-
Hill-dog is so HOT !
- 2 years ago
-
larrysnotes
-
-
clayjj05 [removed]
- This comment was removed as a violation of community guidelines.
-
clayjj05 [removed]
-
-
IMMININT
-
clayjj05:
amen, we never hear about how well we're doing because of these domestic terrorist news networks.
- 2 years ago
-
IMMININT
-
-
bansheewail
-
Without "words" there can be no "diplomacy", which leaves us only the military option. We have to embrace both or we will continue to fail.
- 2 years ago
-
bansheewail
-
-
IMMININT
-
Thanks Clinton, because as Americans we should let the WORDS of the Taliban influence our decisions....
Brilliant.
- 2 years ago
-
IMMININT
-
-
ras_menelik
-
Afganistan ? The Taliban set on taking over Pakistan now...
- 2 years ago
-
ras_menelik
-
-
bansheewail
-
If the people of Afghanistan choose the Taliban in a democratic election, we, the US, have no right to dispute their wishes.
- 2 years ago
-
bansheewail
