US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Monday endorsed efforts to reach out to members of the Taliban or other militants in Afghanistan who may be considered reconcilable, much like what has happened in Iraq.
And he rejected assertions made by a British commander that the Afghan war is not winnable.
Speaking to reporters en route to international meetings in Macedonia and Hungary, Gates said that efforts must be made to determine who is willing to be part of the future of Afghanistan and who is not.
“That is one of the key long-term solutions in Afghanistan, just as it has been in Iraq,” Gates said. “Part of the solution is reconciliation with people who are willing to work with the Afghan government going forward.”
Those who are not willing to work with the government must be dealt with militarily, he said.
Gates’ comments came after revelations that Taliban representatives met with Afghan government officials last month in Saudi Arabia, a former high-level Taliban ambassador said on Monday.
Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban’s former ambassador to Pakistan, denied the meeting could be construed as peace talks. He said he was invited by Saudi King Abdullah to share Iftar — the meal that breaks the daily fast during the month of Ramadan. Taliban representatives and Afghan government officials were also at the meal.
Asked if such efforts by the Saudis were welcome, Gates said that whoever can play a constructive role is welcome.
Gates will be meeting with NATO allies in Hungary to discuss future troop, equipment, funding and other contributions to the Afghan war. He said he would be making the argument that those who cannot send troops, or make other commitments, should back the effort by providing money.
Washington has already begun beefing up its troop strength in Afghanistan, with plans to send Marines before the end of the year, and then an Army brigade early next year, with commitments to send as many as three additional brigades in the following months.
“I want to make sure that everybody understands that the increases in U.S. forces are not seen as replacements for NATO contributions,” Gates said, adding that he wants allies — both NATO members and those who are not — to continue to send troops to the war, and particularly fill the increased need for more trainers for the Afghan security forces.
Currently the US has 33,000 troops in Afghanistan, including 13,000 with the NATO-led force, and 20,000 fighting the insurgency and training Afghan forces.
Asked about comments made by a British commander, suggesting that the Afghan war cannot be won, Gates was more optimistic.
“While we face some significant challenges in Afghanistan, there certainly is no reason to be defeatist or to underestimate the opportunities to be successful in the long run,” he said.
Meanwhile, a German official said yesterday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet has decided to extend the country’s military mission in Afghanistan for 14 months.
The official was present for the decision and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it ahead of an official announcement.
The number of German troops serving with the NATO-led international force is expected to increase this year from 1,000 to 4,500. The extension was seen as likely to pass parliament, whose lower house was scheduled to debate it later yesterday.
In other developments, research by a US professor shows that up to 3,200 civilians have been killed in NATO and US action in Afghanistan since 2005 but compensation payouts have been far lower than in other global cases.
The use of air power is growing, raising risks for civilians, University of New Hampshire professor Marc Herold said in research released on the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2001, launch of the invasion of Afghanistan.
Herold says other groups tracking the civilian cost of the war, such as Human Rights Watch, underestimate the tolls while international military and media attach low value to Afghan life in the accounting of events.
Herold, who runs the Afghan Victim Memorial Project, says his research shows between 2,699 and 3,273 civilians were killed in direct action by international forces in Afghanistan since 2005.
His figures, which he said are also underestimates because civilians are sometimes labeled militants by the military and unknown numbers of injured dying, are based on media and non0government organization reports and other research.
Herold says the US military gives families of its victims at most US$2,500 as a condolence payment — not “compensation” which would admit wrongdoing.
Canadian per person condolence payments to Afghans since 2006 range from US$1,100 to US$9,000, he said.
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