-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
Taleban's Afghanistan descends into chaos By Michael Higgins and Jan Cienski National Post, with files from The Daily Telegraph and news services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- WASHINGTON - The Taleban's grip on Afghanistan appears to be crumbling, with soldiers deserting border crossings, officials defecting to Pakistan and the feared religious police fleeing the streets of Kabul. Tribal leaders from southern Afghanistan, whose support is vital for the ruling government, also met in Pakistan yesterday to discuss ways of avoiding a war and bringing peace -- with or without the Taleban. In Rome, the Afghan opposition agreed to create a supreme council and a military council under the authority of ex-king Mohammed Zahir Shah to prepare an attempt to take power from the Taleban. As tens of thousands of refugees were rushing to get out of Afghanistan, U.S. officials confirmed American and British special operations forces were already in the country laying the groundwork for possible retaliatory strikes. Yesterday, Art Eggleton, the Minister of Defence, hinted Canadian servicemen might also be secretly operating in Afghanistan. George W. Bush, the U.S. President, said the United States is in "hot pursuit" of Osama bin Laden, the man believed to have masterminded the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. With fear gripping Afghanistan, sources in the Pakistani city of Quetta say the Mayor of Kandahar -- southern stronghold of the puritanical Taleban -- an Islamic judge and several senior officials of the religious police have fled there with their families. The much-despised religious police were also reported to have disappeared from the streets of the Afghanistan capital of Kabul. Discipline is reported to be breaking down among Taleban soldiers, who have robbed shops and homes in Kabul. In the west of the country, around the city of Herat, Taleban troops have deserted checkpoints along the border with Iran and some clan leaders have approached the United Front leader, Ismail Khan, to try to strike a deal with him. "In the west, the Taleban have all but disappeared,'' said Patricia Gossman, an American human rights advocate who is in touch with Afghans. Young men from Kabul escaping Taleban conscription are among the tens of thousands of refugees who have arrived on Pakistan's borders. Even though Taleban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, has closed all religious schools to induct the students into the army, many have fled to the border. Tribal leaders from southern Afghanistan gathered just over the border in Pakistan yesterday, hoping to find a way to write the obituary of Taleban rule and devise a new government. "We are here to consult among ourselves and with our Afghan people here to find a way to resolve this matter peacefully," said one bearded elder from Kandahar. The daring meeting of about 20 elders -- all hitherto Taleban allies -- at the home of a strong supporter of the former king was evidence of alliances crumbling inside Afghanistan. Most of the elders are signatories to peace agreements with the Taleban, but do not necessarily support their hard-line Islamic rule. Such treaties among the clans are essential for any government to maintain peace and power in Afghanistan, whose society is composed of a complex structure of tribes and sub-tribes held together by a web of traditions, values and codes of honour. "The people of Afghanistan are tired of 20 years of war. Now all they want is peace with or without the Taleban," said Mohammad Akram, 40, a representative of Kandahar's Alkozai tribe. "If America can bring peace the people will welcome them," he said. "We are also ready to fight another war if that war would bring lasting peace." The meeting took place in the house of Hamid Karzai, the self-exiled leader of the Khilji tribe and a loyal supporter of the king, who was deposed in 1973. Some of Mr. Karzai's other guests openly vented their anger against the Taleban and their decision to shelter bin Laden. "People of Afghanistan are happy that the Americans will rescue them from the Taleban and Osama, who have killed more Afghans than even the Soviets did," said one tribal elder who said he crossed into western Pakistan from Kandahar last week. Members of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance are due to meet the 86-year-old exiled monarch at his home in the Italian capital tomorrow or Monday, said his spokesman, Zalmai Rassul. "It has been decided to create a supreme council and a military council under the aegis of the king," he said. The United Nations said this week that it saw a role for the ex-king in a potential new government in Afghanistan. Yesterday, Mr. Bush firmly closed the door on negotiations with the Taleban, saying diplomacy is not an option. Mr. Bush said the United States has learned from the bloody Soviet experience in Afghanistan in the 1980s how hard it would be "to fight a guerrilla war with conventional forces." He told reporters "there may or may not be a conventional component" to his war on terrorism. "Make no mistake about it, we're in hot pursuit," he said. "There is no negotiation with the Taleban. They heard what I said, now they can act." The Taleban have refused to surrender bin Laden. According to media reports, U.S. and British special forces have been in Afghanistan for the last two weeks, hunting for bin Laden and conducting scouting missions as the United States prepares to retaliate for the Sept. 11 attacks that killed more than 6,000. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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