Karzai Government Strikes Truce with Taliban in Badghis Province, Most Britons Call for Ending the "Unwinnable" Afghanistan War

Afghanistan says strikes Taliban truce in remote area

By Sayed Salahuddin Sayed Salahuddin –

Mon Jul 27, 2009, 9:47 am ET

KABUL (Reuters) –

Afghanistan has struck its first ceasefire with the Taliban in a remote province before a presidential election next month, the government said on Monday, but the truce lasted only hours before clashes broke out.

With the election to be held against a backdrop of increasing violence, the government's announcement of a deal came just before Britain urged Kabul to offer a way out for the "foot soldiers" of the war and bring peace to Afghanistan.

The deal in northwestern Badghis province, near the border with Turkmenistan, came amid an escalation of violence ahead of the August 20 presidential poll, with attacks against civilians and death tolls for U.S. and other NATO troops at record levels.

The truce in Badghis was reached on Saturday, presidential spokesman Seyamak Herawi said, and the government wanted to make similar deals with the Taliban in other parts of the country in a bid to improve security for the election.

"As long as the ceasefire holds, the government does not have the intention to attack the Taliban (in Badghis). And the Taliban can also take part in the elections," Herawi told Reuters.

However Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said several hours later "enemies of peace and stability" -- a term often used to describe Taliban insurgents -- had ambushed police in Badghis. Two insurgents were killed and two police wounded, it said.

Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf earlier said there was no ceasefire with the government anywhere in Afghanistan.

"The resistance against the enemy continues unabated. The government has made this up," Yousuf told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. "I spoke with the mujahideen (Taliban) there about it and they denied it."

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said any kind of truce arrangement was a matter between the Afghan government and "other actors" and it was very important credible elections are held.

"If there is any such arrangement that would allow this to happen, then that would be a good thing," Appathurai said by telephone from Brussels.

Attacks have been less frequent in remote Badghis compared with Taliban strongholds in the south and the east.

"RETURN TO VILLAGES"

U.S. President Barack Obama and British leaders have spoken this year about the need to work with "moderate" Taliban elements and former Taliban officials have been trying to mediate between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the (Taliban resistance movement) since late 2008.

But the Taliban (leaders) have repeatedly rejected talks, saying they would keep fighting until all foreign troops left Afghanistan.

Miliband stressed "reintegration" in a speech to NATO ambassadors in Brussels and said Afghanistan needed an inclusive, long-term political settlement to separate "foot soldiers" from those who are committed to violent jihad (holy war) globally.

"Essentially this means a clear route for former (Taliban fighters) to return to their villages and go back to farming their land, or a role for some of them within the legitimate security forces," Miliband said.

He offered the chance for Afghanistan to take on more military and political responsibility and to root out corruption.

July has become the deadliest month of the war for both U.S. and British troops, the high tolls raising questions in London about whether British troops are adequately equipped, how long they should stay or whether they should be in Afghanistan at all.

The Helmand offensive is the first major operation under Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and its militant allies and stabilize Afghanistan. Washington is sending thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan under the new strategy.

The Badghis truce was arranged after mediation between Taliban leaders and tribal elders, Herawi said. He said the Taliban had agreed not to attack election candidates in the province and to allow them to set up campaign offices.

Herawi said polling centers would be secured by government forces and the Taliban had also agreed not to target reconstruction projects in Badghis.

The U.S. and British embassies in Kabul both said they were aware of reports of the deal but had no immediate comment.

(Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in BRUSSELS; Editing by Paul Tait)

Britain ends Afghanistan offensive

Mon Jul 27, 2009, 11:20 pm ET

LONDON (AFP) –

Britain announced the end of a bloody offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan, as a poll showed Tuesday that most Britons think military operations there are "unwinnable."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised the "heroic" efforts of British forces in the southern Helmand province, where the troop death toll has surged since the assault was launched late last month.

Brown claimed success in Operation Panther's Claw in the province, as officials announced the end of the first phase of the offensive, with troops now focusing on holding ground and then bringing development to the province.

"The efforts of our troops in Helmand have been nothing short of heroic," Brown said. "There has been a tragic human cost. But this has not been in vain.

The comments Monday came as two British soldiers were killed in the region, taking the death toll since operations began in Afghanistan in late 2001 to 191, higher than the number in Iraq.

The surge in troop deaths has sparked a political row over proper resources for troops, with Brown forced to defend Britain's strategy in Afghanistan, following calls for more equipment and boosted soldier numbers.

According to a poll in the Independent newspaper Tuesday, more than half of Britons now think military operations in Afghanistan are "unwinnable" and want troops should be withdrawn immediately.

Fifty eight percent see the offensive against the Taliban as a lost cause. Only 31 percent disagree, according to the poll conducted for the newspaper between July 24 and 26.

Fifty-two percent of the 1,008 Britons polled want the troops out while 43 percent want them to stay put.

Britain has around 9,150 troops in Afghanistan, the vast majority fighting Taliban militants in troubled Helmand.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Monday sought to reassure his compatriots about British operations and urged NATO allies to carry more of the burden.

"The biggest shift must now be towards the Afghan state taking more responsibility," Miliband said in a speech at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, aimed mainly at the British public.

He also warned Afghan leaders that their next government must do more to defeat the Taliban and drive a wedge between the insurgents.

The British military insisted Monday that the first phase of Panther's Claw was a success, with 3,000 British-led troops inflicting heavy losses on the Taliban since the operation was launched in late June.

"What we have achieved here is significant and I am absolutely certain that the operation has been a success," Brigadier Tim Radford, commander of Task Force Helmand, said from the province.

There are about 90,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan helping local forces stabilise Afghanistan, with thousands most recently deployed to the south to try and secure the restive area ahead of presidential polls on August 20.

The August 20 vote, a key test of US and NATO-backed efforts to install democracy in Afghanistan after decades of war and conflict, will be only the second time that Afghans elect a president.

President Hamid Karzai is favourite to win a second term, but has come under fire from his rivals in the election for not doing more to improve security in the country since he assumed office after the 2001 fall of the Taliban.

On Sunday, one of Karzai's vice president candidates Mohammed Qasim Fahim escaped unscathed after a gun and rocket attack hit his convoy in the northern province of Kunduz, the latest in a surge in militant violence.