Bush approves covert plan

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, OCT. 1. The United States President, Mr. George W. Bush, has given the go-ahead to a covert plan to strengthen the anti- Taliban forces inside Afghanistan, The New York Times has reported. The Presidential directive included a $100-million relief assistance to Afghan refugees.

The covert plan to get rid of the Taliban from Kabul seems to be along expected lines as the Bush administration has been taking a two-pronged approach in recent days - increasing the verbal heat on the extremist outfit and at the same time encouraging the so- called moderate elements in that organisation to defect. Then there is the third approach - openly flirting with the loose coalition of anti-Taliban militia, including the Northern Alliance (NA).

The New York Times, quoting unnamed officials, said the Bush administration was considering airdropping food and essential supplies to the Afghans, who would be reeling under a severe winter. But Washington wants to make sure that the relief does not end up in the hands of the Taliban.

The administration has not made it clear as to how it is going to ``strengthen'' the anti-Taliban forces, and has not given the impression that Washington was preparing to change the political landscape of that beleaguered country.

The conservatives, who have long criticised the Clinton administration for taking on ``nation-building'' exercises, are finding themselves in not much of a different situation.

The anti-Taliban operation will have support in Congress, where Republicans have been questioning the attitude and role of the U.S. over the last several years.

In fact, leading Republicans have told the former Afghan King Zahir Shah in Rome that Capitol Hill would favour economic efforts to get Afghanistan back on its feet from more than 20 years of conflict.

The President's go-ahead to the plan came after a National Security Council ``guidance'' identified and laid the basis of the goals in Afghanistan, one of the prime ones being the ouster of the Taliban regime, given its links to terrorists.

At the same time, it was pointed out that the administration did not wish to be in a position of ``choosing sides'', an effort many see as being counter-productive given the psyche of the Afghan people.

For all the offers by the NA of spearheading the military offensive, the Bush administration has been slow to respond and for good reasons. The NA is not exactly a popular alternative in Kabul, given its domination by Tajiks and Uzbeks. And politically, Washington has to be sensitive to Islamabad's viewpoint on the subject.

In all the noises about beefing-up military forces in the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and in forward bases, the U.S. has said that the ``war'' was against terrorists, not against Islam or the people of Afghanistan. It is for this reason that the administration is coming out with a large package on refugee assistance, in addition to being the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to that country.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Pak. repatriates 31 Indians
Next     : U.K. plans tougher security measures