Afghan Envoy Cautions U.S. Against Bin Laden-Spurred Withdrawal of Troops

Afghanistan’s ambassador to the U.S. cautioned against a hasty American withdrawal from the region now that Osama bin Laden has been killed, saying his death doesn’t eliminate the threat from al-Qaeda.

“Underneath him is a very complicated and complex network that needs to be dealt with,” Ambassador Eklil Ahmad Hakimi said in an interview in Washington May 6. “So concluding that the job is done is something that we should be very cautious about.”

Hakimi also expressed hope that the proof of bin Laden’s presence in neighboring Pakistan for years would spur that country’s leaders to accelerate cooperation on helping forge a peace deal to end the war. The U.S. and Afghanistan are seeking to persuade Pakistan to pressure Afghan militant leaders holed up on their turf to enter peace negotiations. The Taliban also may rethink their reluctance to enter negotiations, Hakimi said.

The successful U.S. military raid on the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where bin Laden was hiding was “one of the great steps in the war against terror,” especially for the families of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and in the war in Afghanistan that resulted from it, Hakimi said.

Still, the death of the al-Qaeda leader is more of a symbolic victory, he said. Hakimi cited President Barack Obama’s stated goal to disrupt, defeat and dismantle the al-Qaeda network as a whole, saying: “The network is there still.”

July Troop Withdrawal

Hakimi echoed comments from officials in the Obama administration, which faces an imminent decision over how much to pare the almost 100,000 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan by the president’s July time frame for beginning a drawdown. U.S. lawmakers from both parties last week questioned the need to sacrifice American lives and provide U.S. aid for Afghanistan and Pakistan following bin Laden’s death.

Like the Obama administration officials, Hakimi cited a message from al-Qaeda dated May 3 and posted on websites that have carried confirmed jihadist statements in the past. The missive acknowledged bin Laden’s death and threatened retaliation against the U.S. “soon.”

Bin Laden’s blood “is too valuable to us and to every Muslim to let it go in vain,” the statement attributed to al- Qaeda said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said May 6 that “it’s too early to make a judgment in terms of the impact inside Afghanistan” of bin Laden’s death.

‘Game-Changer’

Meeting with troops at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, the defense secretary said the U.S. may know in six months or so whether the operation made a difference.

“There is a possibility that it could be a game-changer,” Gates said.

Bin Laden had “a very close personal relationship” with Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban that harbored al-Qaeda in Afghanistan before the Sept. 11 attacks, Gates said, according to a Defense Department transcript.

Others in the Taliban felt betrayed by al-Qaeda because they were ousted from power by the U.S.-led coalition that invaded Afghanistan after the 2001 attacks, Gates said.

The Taliban’s leadership council often is called the “Quetta shura,” named for the city in southwest Pakistan where many Taliban leaders fled after the 2001 offensive.

Cutting Off Support

Hakimi said that Afghanistan wants its neighbor to cut off support that comes from Pakistan for the militants.

“We want them to encourage and also to use their power to bring those people” to the negotiating table under the conditions Afghanistan and the international community have set, he said. Those terms require renouncing ties with al-Qaeda, laying down arms and agreeing to adhere to the Afghan Constitution.

One obstacle to peace talks has been the difficulty of identifying Taliban representatives with the authority to negotiate for the group’s leaders, who are in hiding because they have been targeted and listed as terrorists by the U.S. and other countries.

A peacemaking council formed last year by Afghan President Hamid Karzai is considering the option of trying to establish an office somewhere for Taliban representatives empowered to negotiate on the group’s behalf, Hakimi said. A location hasn’t been determined, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net.

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