Russia, US discuss post-Taliban govt
CRAWFORD - President George W. Bush on Thursday called for a post-Taliban government in Afghanistan to include more than the Northern Alliance forces that have taken command of much of the country. Bush, who took questions along with Russian President Vladimir Putin from students at Crawford High School, said the post-Taliban government must include Pashtun tribes in the south of the country that have been at odds with the Northern Alliance. "Any government, in order for it to achieve its objectives, must represent all the interests in Afghanistan," Bush said. White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Afghanistan was the main topic of discussion of the two leaders during talks on Wednesday night and Thursday morning in Crawford. She said they instructed their foreign ministers to press hard for an acceleration of arrangements to get a post-Taliban government formed quickly. The Northern Alliance early this week defied a Bush request not to take over the Afghan capital Kabul, and subsequently made strong advances across the country, sending the Taliban fleeing. The alliance's bold move has forced the international community to scramble to try to put together a new government from factions that mistrust each other. A political deal is apparently days or weeks away. Both Iranian Interior Minister Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari and U.S. envoy for Afghanistan James Dobbins were in Islamabad on Thursday for talks with Pakistani officials. Rice said Bush and Putin were pleased so far that the Northern Alliance "has continued to talk about the importance of a broad-based government." The international community had told the Northern Alliance to stay out of Kabul until agreement had been reached on a broad-based post-Taliban government. But the alliance is now in control of Kabul, while a political deal is days or weeks away. Vice President Dick Cheney, in a BBC interview, said he believed the Northern Alliance had "conducted themselves in a responsible fashion" despite fears they would engage in a wholesale bloodletting against Taliban supporters in Kabul. He said it was important for the ultimate government that emerges in Afghanistan to have the support of the Afghan people and be broadly representative. "I can't predict with certainty how that will sort out," he said. Bush said he and Putin also discussed how to speed humanitarian relief to Afghan citizens displaced by the U.S.-led bombing campaign there in retaliation for the Sept. 11 attacks. He also said he and Putin agreed on three objectives for Afghanistan: Make certain it is a peaceful neighbor in the region, that it never harbor terrorists or serve as a training ground for terrorism again, and that it no longer export illegal drugs. -Reuters
