Mullah Zaeef, a former envoy to Pakistan, reportedly represented the Taliban side in the recent talks.
When Obama stated that he was going to reach out to the Islamic world, he was not kidding. The weakness of Obama has lead to the Taliban getting stronger. He has even given the Taliban the OK to participate in the future political landscape of Afghanistan. Apparently none of this was enough though, and now Obama is willing to share power in Afghanistan with the Taliban .
US Offers Taliban 6 Provinces for 8 Bases
By Aamir Latif
ISLAMABAD
The emboldened Taliban movement in Afghanistan turned down an American offer of power-sharing in exchange for accepting the presence of foreign troops, Afghan government sources confirmed.
“US negotiators had offered the Taliban leadership through Mullah Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil (former Taliban foreign minister) that if they accept the presence of NATO troops in Afghanistan, they would be given the governorship of six provinces in the south and northeast,” a senior Afghan Foreign Ministry official told IslamOnline.net requesting anonymity for not being authorized to talk about the sensitive issue with the media.
He said the talks, brokered by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, continued for weeks at different locations including the Afghan capital Kabul.
Saudi Arabia, along with Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, were the only states to recognize the Taliban regime which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
Turkish Prime Minister Reccap Erodgan has reportedly been active in brokering talks between the two sides.
His emissaries are in contact with Hizb-e-Islami (of former prime minister Gulbadin Hikmatyar) too because he is an important factor in northeastern Afghanistan.”
A Taliban spokesman admitted indirect talks with the US.
“Yes, there were some indirect talks, but they did not work,” Yousaf Ahmedi, the Taliban spokesman in southern Afghanistan, told IOL from an unknown location via satellite phone.
“There are some people who are conveying each others’ (Taliban and US) messages. But there were no direct talks between us and America,” he explained.
Afghan and Taliban sources said Mutawakkil and Mullah Mohammad Zaeef, a former envoy to Pakistan who had taken part in previous talks, represented the Taliban side in the recent talks.
The US Embassy in Kabul denied any such talks.
“No, we are not holding any talks with Taliban,” embassy spokeswoman Cathaline Haydan told IOL from Kabul.
Asked whether the US has offered any power-sharing formula to Taliban, she said she was not aware of any such offer.
“I don’t know about any specific talks and the case you are reporting is not true.”
Provinces for Bases
Source say that for the first time the American negotiators did not insist on the “minus-Mullah Omer” formula, which had been the main hurdle in previous talks between the two sides.
The Americans reportedly offered Taliban a form of power-sharing in return for accepting the presence of foreign troops.
“America wants 8 army and air force bases in different parts of Afghanistan in order to tackle the possible regrouping of Al-Qaeda network,” the senior official said.
He named the possible hosts of the bases as Mazar-e-Sharif and Badakshan in north, Kandahar in south, Kabul, Herat in west, Jalalabad in northeast and Ghazni and Faryab in central Afghanistan.
In exchange, the US offered Taliban the governorship of the southern provinces of Kandahar, Zabul, Hilmand and Orazgan as well as the northeastern provinces of Nooristan and Kunar.
These provinces are the epicenter of resistance against the US-led foreign forces and are considered the strongholds of Taliban.
Orazgan and Hilmand are the home provinces of Taliban Supreme Commander Mullah Omer and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
“But Taliban did not agree on that,” said the senior official.
“Their demand was that America must give a deadline for its pull out if it wants negotiations to go on.”
Wild Thing’s comment…….
President of the United States begging the Taliban thugs for a deal!! We shouldn’t be offering the Taliban anything other than bullets lubed with pork lard?
And there are Afghans who have risked their lives, and their families lives, to support us. Obama sold them out too along with our troops. Good luck getting any more support from them.
How about we exchange Obama for our troops and let Obama stay over there with his favorite terrorists the Taliban. He would fit right in and wouldn’t even have to learn their language.
The Taliban would be crazy to accept this proposal. If they wait, they can have it all. If they wait long enough Obama will give them all they want over there and heck over here too. The Taliban already said no. They are ruthless but not stupid.
Obama is so inept at foreign policy that he is bungling the job of selling us out.
This sorry POS is trying to give Afghanistan to its enemy! What an egomaniac. It isn’t his country to give away, and his offer is offensive to all, even the damned Taliban. GOD save America from him.
“99.999% of Terrorists are Muslim!”
At the risk of sounding crude, in my day in the Marine Corps, Obama would be described as a limp-dick, or weakling.
I agree WT. Why should they make concessions when they’re on the verge of victory? And our credibility with those Afghani’s that have helped us is gone. I wish someone would begin impeachment proceedings soon.
When butchering scum like the Taliban have more scruples than ‘CIC’ Obama, it says a lot about the depths to which we have devolved as a nation. How soon the Democrats have forgotten that their president Lyndon B Johnson tried the same scheme and it cost the United States seven more years of bloodshed before they said ‘you win’ to our enemy. After Democrat claims of 8 years of Bush not capturing Bin Laden their master sleuth’s haven’t a clue where his is. Remarkable in the sense that the enemy can keep a secret for all this time and the White House can’t. Kipling’s Gunga Din, gives insight into loyalty in battle and the value of allied support, Obama and his administration have told all our enemies that he will not act to stop them and we all react with feigned outrage that the Taliban refuse to be bought, folks they are not your everyday darkie or Democrat, especially when Obama offers them chips from the other players at the poker table. Your cophragia is exposed Barry, you need to issue an apology to your Taliban friends.
The jerk needs to exit stage left, take loser joe with him, and none too soon. We are going backwards with his idiotic ideas and narcissim.
…on second thought this sounds like a job interview to lead the Taliban. Maybe they have better bennies. He should take it and move…
Jan, I agree, we are going backwards the
way Obama is doing this.
Jack your so right about Gunga Din.
Jim, I would love impeachment proceedings
but it will have to be a dem that does it
and starts it. Otherwise they will play
the race card and that will really hurt
the next election. I hate that it is like that
but from what I have seen this last two years
that is what Obama and his people do all the
time.
Billy Ray, haha yes he is.
Frankly, DITTO that!
Thats sayin something Jack, the Taliban have more class than obama. Another bribe, 30 pieces of silver…Hmmm doesn’t seem to work as well in Afghanistan as it does in Chicago. Evidently the man-child doesn’t realize he’s now running with the big dogs and like the little nipper he is, he’d be better off on the Porch.
That seems to be obama’s Foreign policy, buy’em off, pay’em off or suck’em off what ever works. I don’t care what they call him he is a coward and the sooner he steps down the better. This war is way over his head, his understanding is nil, and he don’t want to know nothing, about Foreign Policy. The man-child is useless.
I do not knoew how the manuver went but between Hilary and Jughead Joe Biden Obama got played. The sneaky Talilban manuvered him into looking weaker than Carter.
Say what you want about the Russians, but they understand that the way to negotiate with the likes of the Taliban is with your boot on his chest and your bayonet at his throat.