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NATO to "facilitate" Afghan dialogue with Taliban
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 14 - 10 - 2010

Qaeda 1431 H/14 October 2010, SPA -- NATO troops are ready to help the Afghan government reach out to former Taliban combatants, the Western
military alliance's chief confirmed Thursday.
Speaking after a meeting in Brussels of NATO defence and foreign
ministers, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen insisted that the
"reconciliation process is Afghan-led.", dpa reported.
"Our position is that if we can facilitate this process through
practical assistance, then why not?" he asked. "I won't go into
details. If we get a request and can be of practical assistance, then
we are prepared to do that."
He pointed out that NATO was only prepared to accept militants who
"put down weapons and cut off links with armed groups" and pledge to
respect the Afghan democratic constitution and human rights,
including those of women.
Speaking earlier to US broadcaster ABC, US Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton defended the idea of reaching out to people
who may have been NATO's foes until now.
"If you look at conflicts around the world, you don't make peace
with your friends," she said.
"What we are seeing is a move by the lower-level fighters, many of
them to leave the battlefield. ... I think it's highly unlikely that
the leadership of the Taliban that refused to turn over (Osama) bin
Laden in 2001 will ever reconcile."
"But stranger things have happened in the history of war. But it
can only happen if they're willing to abide by the red lines that we
and the Afghan government have established," Clinton said.
"Whenever opportunities arise that are worth exploring, I think we
should take advantage of that," US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates
added after the NATO talks.
Both Clinton and Gates stressed that they had asked Afghan
President Hamid Karzai to ensure the maximum "transparency" in the
process.
Separately, Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini indicated
that his and several other NATO countries had imposed a "caveat" on
the dialogue with former fighters.
"Those that fire on our soldiers cannot be reintegrated," he
warned.
"Based on the reasonableness and seriousness" of proposals from
Karzai's government, "single names or groups may be lifted from the
international lists of terrorist organizations," Frattini said.


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