Clinton says Taliban can choose peace or face assault

By Subel Bhandari and Mustafa Kazemi Oct 20, 2011, 11:27 GMT

Kabul - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that the Taliban had two choices: make peace or face a continued military onslaught.

Afghan and foreign troops have been able to increase 'the pressure on the Taliban to sharpen the choices that they face,' Clinton said at a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at Kabul's presidential palace.

'They can either be part of Afghanistan's peaceful future and end 30 years of war or face continuing assault,' she said.

Clinton arrived to Afghanistan late Wednesday on a short, unannounced visit to meet with Karzai and civil society leaders.

The US diplomat has been pushing for a political solution to the decade-old insurgency in Afghanistan.

'Reconciliation is possible,' she said. 'Indeed, it represents the best hope for Afghanistan and the region.'

Clinton said 'there is no military solution'.

The Taliban leadership so far has brushed off all efforts for peace talks saying no reconciliation is possible until the US leaves Afghanistan.

Clinton's visit came as coordinated militant attacks have been increasing in Kabul in recent months, including September's assassination of former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who headed a council that was seeking peace talks with the Taliban.

'The despicable murder of Professor Rabbani was another reminder of the suffering so many Afghan families have endured,' Clinton said. 'They deserve a different future.'

Clinton said she and Karzai discussed 'the challenges that we face but also opportunities that we have.'

She also met with civil society leaders in the capital, including the son of slained Rabbani.

The United States remained committed to 'an inclusive Afghan peace process that ends the conflict, protects the gains that the Afghan people have achieved in the last 10 years,' she said.

The Taliban 'must renounce violence, abandon al-Qaeda and abide by the laws and constitution of Afghanistan, including its protection for women and minorities,' Clinton said.

'The hard won rights of Afghans must not be rolled back,' the diplomat said, adding that the rule of law must not be threatened.

At least 140,000 foreign troops, of which two thirds are Americans, are currently fighting the insurgency.

The US and NATO allies are scheduled to withdraw all combat troops by 2014 and hand over security responsibility to Afghan forces, amidst growing concern that Afghan forces are not yet ready.

Clinton also said the US will not abandon Afghanistan after 2014.

'Over the years ahead, our role and our military presence will change significantly,' she said. 'But we will remain committed and engaged.'

US and NATO military officials have argued some successes in the Taliban heartland in the south in recent months but the decade-long insurgency in Afghanistan has seen more violence in other previously peaceful north and west.

There is a growing concern in Kabul and Washington regarding of Pakistan's role in the Afghan conflict.

Many hold the eastern neighbour responsible for the war since senior Taliban leaders are allegedly based in Quetta city of Pakistan and insurgents enjoye stronghold along the restive border.

At the press conference, Karzai said despite the criticism, Afghanistan has remained 'engaged in a very sincere, very direct, very consistent peace efforts' with Pakistan and the Taliban.

'We believe that the Taliban to a very, very great extent are controlled by establishments in Pakistan, stay in Pakistan, have their headquarters in Pakistan, launch operations from Pakistan,' Karzai told reporters.

'It is an effort to try and find the proper venue, proper authority for talks. And the proper authority, we firmly believe, is Pakistan.'

Clinton said Pakistan's cooperation is critical, urging Afghan and Pakistani leaders to resume their dialogue.

'Violent extremism has also taken the lives of thousands of Pakistanis as well as Afghans,' she said.

Clinton is due to visit Pakistan after Kabul trying to ease increasing tensions between the three countries over the fight against militants.

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