Posted on 10/02/2006 10:14:44 AM PDT by Gengis Khan
LONDON: Following the pattern of the Pakistan Army-Taliban deal in Waziristan last month, the battling British and Taliban have for the first time struck a similar “peace deal” of their own in Afghanistan, giving a ray of hope of similar “arrangements” to find some sustainable solution to the five-year old conflict.
Under the agreed deal reported by Sunday Times, both the British troops and Taliban fighters would withdraw from one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan after local people stood as guarantors to the peace arrangements.
Brigadier Ed Butler, the commander of the British taskforce, flew into Musa Qala 18 days ago, guarded only by his military police close-protection team, to attend a Shura, or council of town elders, to negotiate a withdrawal.
After the Waziristan deal between Pakistan Army and the Taliban bordering Afghanistan last month, this is for the first time that the British troops have entered into a similar deal which has left the British media guessing.
Defence analysts, however, fear that the Taliban were ready to strike such “peace deals” at this moment only to regroup and restart their attacks on foreign troops in summer next year. Sunday Times reported that over the past two months British soldiers have come under sustained attacks defending a remote mud-walled government outpost in the town of Musa Qala in southern Afghanistan. Eight of its soldiers have been killed over there.
The newspaper said it has now been agreed that the troops will quietly pull out of Musa Qala in return for the Taliban doing the same. The compound is one of the four district government offices in the Helmand province that are being guarded by British troops.
When British troops were first sent to Afghanistan it was hoped they would help kick-start the country’s reconstruction. But under pressure from President Hamid Karzai they were forced to defend the Afghan government “district centres” at Musa Qala, Sangin, Nowzad and Kajaki.
The peace deal in Musa Qala was first mooted by representatives of the town’s 2,000-strong population. About 400 people living in the immediate area of the district centre compound have been forced to evacuate their homes, most of which have been destroyed in the fighting.
The deal - and the avoidance of the word ceasefire — allows both sides to disengage without losing face, an important aspect in the Afghan psyche. Polls suggest that 70 per cent of the population is waiting to see whether Nato or the Taliban emerge as the dominant force before they decide which side to back.
“There is always a risk,” one officer said. “But if it works, it will provide a good template for the rest of Helmand. The people of Sangin are already saying they want a similar deal.” There is frustration among many British troops that they have been unable to help reconstruction projects because they have been involved in intense fighting. An e-mail from one of the officers published this weekend said: “We are not having an effect on the average Afghan”.
A total of 29 British servicemen have lost their lives in southern Afghanistan in the past two months, including 14 who died when their Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft crashed on September
http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=3382
British troops in secret truce with the Taliban
BRITISH troops battling the Taliban are to withdraw from one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan after agreeing a secret deal with the local people. Over the past two months British soldiers have come under sustained attack defending a remote mud-walled government outpost in the town of Musa Qala in southern Afghanistan. Eight have been killed there.
It has now been agreed the troops will quietly pull out of Musa Qala in return for the Taliban doing the same. The compound is one of four district government offices in the Helmand province that are being guarded by British troops.
Although soldiers on the ground may welcome the agreement, it is likely to raise new questions about troop deployment. Last month Sir Richard Dannatt, the new head of the British Army, warned that soldiers in Afghanistan were fighting at the limit of their capacity and could only “just” cope with the demands.
When British troops were first sent to Afghanistan it was hoped they would help kick-start the country’s reconstruction. But under pressure from President Hamid Karzai they were forced to defend Afghan government “district centres” at Musa Qala, Sangin, Nowzad and Kajaki.
The move — opposed by Lieutenant-General David Richards, the Nato commander in Afghanistan — turned the four remote British bases into what Richards called “magnets” for the Taliban. All 16 of the British soldiers killed in action in southern Afghanistan have died at Musa Qala, Sangin or Nowzad.
The soldiers risk sniper fire and full-scale assaults from experienced Taliban fighters who can then blend into the local population after each attack.
The peace deal in Musa Qala was first mooted by representatives of the town’s 2,000-strong population. About 400 people living in the immediate area of the district centre compound have been forced to evacuate their homes, most of which have been destroyed in the fighting.
Brigadier Ed Butler, the commander of the British taskforce, flew into Musa Qala 18 days ago, guarded only by his military police close-protection team, to attend a shura, or council of town elders, to negotiate a withdrawal.
Butler was taken in a convoy to the shura in the desert southeast of Musa Qala where the carefully formulated proposals were made. The British commander said that he was prepared to back a “cessation of fighting” if they could guarantee that the Taliban would also leave.
The deal — and the avoidance of the word ceasefire — allows both sides to disengage without losing face, an important aspect in the Afghan psyche. Polls suggest that 70% of the population are waiting to see whether Nato or the Taliban emerge as the dominant force before they decide which to back.
Fighting in Afghanistan traditionally takes place in the summer and there are concerns that the Taliban could simply use the “cessation of fighting” to regroup and attack again next year. But there are clear signs of the commitment of the people of Musa Qala to the deal, with one Talib who stood out against it reportedly lynched by angry locals.
“There is always a risk,” one officer said. “But if it works, it will provide a good template for the rest of Helmand. The people of Sangin are already saying they want a similar deal.”
There is frustration among many British troops that they have been unable to help on reconstruction projects because they have been involved in intense fighting. An e-mail from one officer published this weekend said: “We are not having an effect on the average Afghan.
“At the moment we are no better than the Taliban in their eyes, as all they can see is us moving into an area, blowing things up and leaving, which is very sad.”
The Ministry of Defence announced this weekend that 10 British soldiers had been seriously injured in fighting in the last few days of August, bringing the total number of troops seriously injured in the country this year to 23.
A total of 29 British servicemen have lost their lives in southern Afghanistan in the past two months, including 14 who died when their Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft crashed on September 2.
A new poll published last week revealed a lack of public confidence over the deployment of troops in Afghanistan. According to the BBC poll, 53% of people opposed the use of British troops in the region.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2383232,00.html
Yea, like this is going to work. The Taliban will lie throught their teeth if they feel any advantage.
If true, this gives the apearance of a Taliban victory. Perception is everything.
These reports are ridiculous. We probably know 1% of what is going on here.
Well said
The Brits have been fighting in Afghanistan for three centuries. Nothing much has changed . The Pathans remain the same crazy religious fanatics as they always were. The last conqueror who shook up Afghanistan was Genghis himself.
Yeah I know.
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