Baradar’s capture, Marja camapign unlikely to break Taliban will: NYT
By ANIFriday, February 19, 2010
ISLAMABAD/KABUL - The capture of Mullah Baradar, the deputy commander of the Afghan Taliban, in Karachi recently, and the ongoing the Marja campaign is unlikely to break the Taliban’s will to fight, but there is hope that the mounting pressure will make some members start questioning their allegiance, says the New York Times in a report.
The paper further goes on to say that top US commander in Kabul, General Stanley McChrystal and Afghan leaders have been drafting a plan to offer jobs and other incentives to persuade insurgents to put down their weapons and renounce the Taliban’s brutality and medieval ideas.
Guaranteeing their security from reprisals - from their former comrades or their neighbors - will be essential, the paper adds.
However, the NYT warns that the Taliban’s hardcore leaders will never want to reconcile with Kabul.
Even if they do, their price will be far too high, claims the report.
The joint raid by American and Pakistani intelligence forces is a sign that President Obama’s investment in better relations with Pakistan is bearing fruit.
It is also a reminder of how much more could be done if the Pakistanis fully committed to the fight against the extremists.
The goal is then to replicate the Marja experience in Taliban strongholds across the country. It is an ambitious strategy that will need the sustained attention of Washington and other NATO allies and the solid backing of President Hamid Karzai. (ANI)
