September 11: Karzai calls for re-think in 'war on terror'

Referring to militant strong holds, he said that the "main sources" of terror were completely ignored.

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday called for a re-think on the "war on terror" as the Taliban taunted the United States with the prospect of "utter defeat" on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The deaths of nearly 3,000 people in the worst terror strike on the US soil resulted in troops invading Afghanistan to bring down the Taliban regime for sheltering al Qaeda and to implant a Western-backed administration in the country.

US and NATO troops organised small ceremonies on 11^th September 2012 in Afghanistan to honour the dead of the war on terror.

The war has steadily lost popular support in the West and the bulk of 117,000 NATO combat troops are preparing to withdraw by the end of 2014.

At one commemoration, US General John Allen, NATO commander on the ground, gave an upbeat assessment of progress, saying that 76per cent of the population lives in areas transitioning to Afghan security lead.

"In many areas, people are no longer intimidated and terrorised by insurgents and extremist groups. Little girls bravely walk to school, each step a step of defiance to the Taliban," said Allen.

But Karzai, whose relations with the West have increasingly frayed in recent years, said that the war was "not conducted and pursued as it should have been.” Referring to militant strong holds, he added that the "main sources" of terror were completely ignored.

"Afghan villages and homes were once again turned into a battlefield of a ruthless war inflicting irrecoverable losses in both human and material (terms)," he said.

He called on the world "to re-think their approach to terrorism and its conduct of the war and to redress the wrongs of the past," warning that otherwise there would be "new adversities.”

More than 3,100 NATO troops have been killed in Afghanistan, and according to the United Nations, around 13,000 Afghan civilians have lost their lives since 2007.

On the eve of the anniversary, an insurgent rocket destroyed a helicopter, killing three Afghan intelligence agents on the largest US base in Afghanistan. On the day itself, a suicide bomber killed a local Afghan police commander and four civilians in a shop in a remote town near the border with Turkmenistan.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for both the attacks and in a statement posted online Sunday, said that the United States "is facing utter defeat in Afghanistan militarily, politically, economically and in all other facets.” The militia said that the war had "no legal or ethical" basis as Afghans had "no hand" in what happened on September 11, 2001, and that despite the billions spent on the conflict "no American is safe in any society today.”

A British think-tank suggested this week that the Taliban are open to a ceasefire and an agreement that could lead to a US military presence in Afghanistan until 2024. The report from the Royal United Services Institute claims to reveal an emerging, pragmatic consensus among the Taliban leadership, who are willing to take part in peace negotiations in exchange for political leverage after 2014.

But on Tuesday, a Taliban spokesman denied they were ready for talks.

"We'll never resort to talks or any deal that is against the interests of the Afghan people," said Zabihullah Mujahid from an undisclosed location.

The Taliban had been in contact with US officials in Qatar about a possible prisoner swap earlier this year, but the militia suspended the talks in March. There are growing concerns in Afghanistan, particularly among those who have prospered in the last decade, that NATO's departure could renew civil conflict and strengthen the Taliban.

Shafi Ayobi, 25, an engineering student in Kabul said the arrival of the Americans had freed Afghans, giving them greater job opportunities and freedom of expression.

"The 9/11 attacks changed everything, as much as it was tragic for the Americans, the aftermath and the coming of the international community was a blessing for Afghans. But I am concerned as I see that they are leaving while the Taliban are still out there, waiting to strike with vengeance," said Ayobi.