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Obama hints at talks with Taleban Obama hints at talks with Taleban
(about 1 hour later)
President Obama has suggested there could be talks with moderate elements of the Taleban in Afghanistan as part of a process of reconciliation.President Obama has suggested there could be talks with moderate elements of the Taleban in Afghanistan as part of a process of reconciliation.
Mr Obama told the New York Times that US forces in Iraq had persuaded some Islamic radicals alienated by the tactics of al-Qaeda to co-operate.Mr Obama told the New York Times that US forces in Iraq had persuaded some Islamic radicals alienated by the tactics of al-Qaeda to co-operate.
He said there might be similar opportunities in Afghanistan, although the situation there was more complex.He said there might be similar opportunities in Afghanistan, although the situation there was more complex.
Asked if the US was winning in Afghanistan, Mr Obama replied: "No."Asked if the US was winning in Afghanistan, Mr Obama replied: "No."
A month into his presidency, Mr Obama authorised the deployment of up to 17,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan.A month into his presidency, Mr Obama authorised the deployment of up to 17,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan.
More than seven years after US-led forces ousted the Taleban regime in Afghanistan shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks in America, the militants have regrouped and are waging an intensifying insurgency.
'Fierce independence''Fierce independence'
Correspondents say the notion of reconciliation with the fundamentalist Islamic movement appears to be gathering momentum as a way of reining in the escalating violence in Afghanistan.
Mr Obama and his advisors are reviewing the US strategy on Afghanistan, and have looked at what has worked in Iraq.Mr Obama and his advisors are reviewing the US strategy on Afghanistan, and have looked at what has worked in Iraq.
Those tribes are multiple and sometimes operate at cross purposes, and so figuring all that out is going to be much more of a challenge President Obama Obama's new Afghan strategy
"There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region," he said on board Air Force One."There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region," he said on board Air Force One.
Referring to the US policy in Iraq, he said: "If you talk to General [David] Petraeus, I think he would argue that part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists, but who were willing to work with us because they had been completely alienated by the tactics of al-Qaeda in Iraq."Referring to the US policy in Iraq, he said: "If you talk to General [David] Petraeus, I think he would argue that part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists, but who were willing to work with us because they had been completely alienated by the tactics of al-Qaeda in Iraq."
Those tribes are multiple and sometimes operate at cross purposes, and so figuring all that out is going to be much more of a challenge President Obama Obama's new Afghan strategy
But Afghanistan could be a different situation.But Afghanistan could be a different situation.
"The situation in Afghanistan is, if anything, more complex," he told the newspaper."The situation in Afghanistan is, if anything, more complex," he told the newspaper.
"You have a less governed region, a history of fierce independence among tribes."You have a less governed region, a history of fierce independence among tribes.
"Those tribes are multiple and sometimes operate at cross purposes, and so figuring all that out is going to be much more of a challenge.""Those tribes are multiple and sometimes operate at cross purposes, and so figuring all that out is going to be much more of a challenge."
He also discussed what the US would do if a terror suspect appeared in a country without an extradition arrangement with the US.
"There could be situations - and I emphasise 'could be' because we haven't made a determination yet - where, let's say that we have a well-known al-Qaeda operative that doesn't surface very often, appears in a third country with whom we don't have an extradition relationship or would not be willing to prosecute, but we think is a very dangerous person," he said.
"I think we still have to think about how do we deal with that kind of scenario," he added."I think we still have to think about how do we deal with that kind of scenario," he added.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and some foreign diplomats have long advocated moves to reach out to the Taleban or at least moderate elements within the group, as part of an eventual political settlement.
Mr Karzai's brother met former members of the Taleban in Saudi Arabia in September 2008 as part of a first step towards peace talks.
In December 2007, a senior EU and UN official were expelled from Afghanistan by the government in Kabul, accused of attempting to secretly broker a deal with Taleban militants.
This weekend a former British special forces commander said the UK's effort in Afghanistan was "worthless".
"We hold tiny areas of ground in Helmand and we are kidding ourselves if we think our influence goes beyond 500 metres of our security bases," ex-SAS commander Maj Sebastian Morley told a newspaper.
Deadly rivalries
Analysts say coalition forces face three types of insurgent in Afghanistan
  • fighters with links to al-Qaeda (deemed to be irreconcilable to the Kabul government)
nationalists, whose primary aim is to expel foreign forces
  • Afghans who joined the insurgency for personal reasons, such as abuse at the hands of the authorities.Security analysts believe the last two types of fighter could eventually be reconciled to the government.
    But any talks would have to take account of the often deadly rivalries between Afghanistan's various ethnic groups, say correspondents.