Inevitable: Obama to accept Taliban role in Afghan Politics

Disgraceful…America, hang your head in shame…

Mr Obama is holding a series of meetings with advisers and military commanders as he ponders America’s options in Afghanistan. General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander of Nato forces in the country, wants another 40,000 American troops to pursue a new counter-insurgency strategy.

But the latest indications are that Mr Obama will probably turn him down. Any reinforcements are likely to be far below this figure. The emerging thinking in the White House seems to favour a lighter campaign aimed at defeating al-Qaeda rather than crushing the Taliban.

Insteaed, America might seek a settlement of sorts with the Taliban, giving them some involvement in Afghan politics. An official involved in the review told Associated Press that America would “not tolerate their return to power”, but may not seek the total defeat of the Taliban. Some in Mr Obama’s team believe that only a minority of the Taliban are aligned with al-Qaeda and share its goal of attacking the West. “They’re not the same type of group,” said Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary. “It’s certainly not backed up by any of the intelligence.”

The White House has said that there are only about 100 al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan, while there are thousands in Pakistan, including Osama bin Laden and his key allies.

The possible strategy could see a greater emphasis on special forces, pilotless drones and the Pakistani army that have brought some success against the terrorist organisation in Tribal Areas. But critics say that defeating al-Qaeda means beating the Taliban.

“The fact is, we all know if the Taliban comes back, al-Qaeda will come back,” said John McCain, the Republican Senator, after a meeting at the White House earlier this week.

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