Taliban may want settlement, Obama tells US troops

Hillary Clinton defends Washington’s ‘preliminary outreach’.

Afp June 25, 2011

FORT DRUM, NEW YORK:

US President Barack Obama said on Thursday there were signs that the Taliban may be interested in a political settlement critical to stabilising Afghanistan after US troops come home.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meanwhile defended what she said was Washington’s “very preliminary outreach” to the Taliban as part of a necessary but unpleasant bid for a political solution in Afghanistan.

Obama referred to the dialogue with the Afghan insurgency for the second time in as many days, after announcing that he would bring home 33,000 troops home from Afghanistan by next summer on Wednesday.

“Because of you, we are now taking the fight to the Taliban instead of the Taliban bringing the fight to us,” Obama told Afghanistan combat veterans from the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division in upstate New York.

“Because of you, there are signs that the Taliban may be interested in figuring out a political settlement that ultimately is going to be critical in consolidating that country.”

Obama said in his primetime speech on Wednesday on the Afghan war that there was “reason to believe that progress can be made” in talks with the Taliban.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2011.

COMMENTS (2)

Adnan | 12 years ago | Reply I wonder to what extreme could US policy makers and decision makers be impudent! First they bombard a country to till its collapse then they talk about its consolidation! Height of impudence indeed. You used cruise missiles, you used cluster bombs, yes and let me remind you it was you who dropped toy bombs whose victims were none other than children! Talking about their consolidation should bring shiver in your body. You are leaving not because u r kind enough and u have stabilized them and your work is done but because they never welcomed u and made your progress like an ant and after so much spending and impossing taxes on your ppl, u still could not control it. This is because u r leaving. Shameless ppl!

Arshad Jamal Butt | 12 years ago | Reply Yes now you can say that because your troops are leaving and your budget is disturbing and you set up killing of Obama to go into elections. People understand that... Surprise Surprise...

Replying to X