Posted on 11/16/2001 3:12:43 PM PST by Pokey78
THE Northern Alliance issued a veiled threat against British forces in Afghanistan yesterday, complaining that it had not been informed in advance about their arrival and giving a warning against the sending of more ground troops into the country. As British, American and French troops spread across northern Afghanistan, checking out airfields for possible use by coalition forces in future operations, the Alliance leadership insisted that it did not want foreign forces in the capital. The warnings were issued by Ahmad Wali Massoud, the Northern Alliance envoy to London and de facto Afghan ambassador. Mr Massoud’s views were echoed by the Alliance’s newly installed foreign and interior ministries in Kabul, which suggested that the British troops “go back”. Ismail Khan, one of the leading Afghan military commanders, described the deployment as a mistake. Even the French operation appeared to run into difficulties. President Karimov of Uzbekistan, whose country is supposed to be a staging post for French forces, said: “I know nothing about it and our Government knows nothing about it.” But of far greater concern to the planned deployment this weekend of hundreds more British soldiers, part of a 4,000-strong force on standby for Afghanistan, were Mr Massoud’s remarks. They coincided with a general hardening of positions by the newly installed authorities in Kabul. “We were not told the British troops were arriving at Bagram,” he told The Times. “We do not know why they are there. Foreign armies should be careful about going into Afghanistan.” Mr Massoud said that if they were there to clear mines and reopen the airport for humanitarian flights, then the Alliance would have no objections. But he added that Afghanistan did not want outside forces taking part in peacekeeping duties or interfering in internal politics. “We have control of Kabul. We do not need foreign troops in our capital. It is not a good idea to say, ‘We are sending troops to Afghanistan no matter what’,” said Mr Massoud, the brother of Ahmed Shah Massoud, the Alliance military commander assassinated in September. A Foreign Office spokesman insisted last night that the Alliance had been informed “at the highest levels”, but the row could have more to do with politics than poor co-ordination. The Alliance, made up of a motley collection of ethnic leaders and regional warlords, was until last week squeezed into a tiny pocket of territory in the north. Now it controls most of the country and is clearly beginning to flex its political muscles. It evidently resents plans for the deployment of a possible “stabilisation force” in Kabul and is resisting attempts by the international community to force it to share power. Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations representative on Afghanistan, last night accused the Alliance of delaying efforts to hold a meeting on the country’s future. The same charge was made by aides to Zahir Shah, the former King, seen as a key figure in arranging any post-war government. The UN has been trying to arrange a meeting of leading Afghan figures on neutral ground, but the Alliance has insisted that it should be in Kabul and arranged by Afghans. The issue is expected to dominate talks this weekend as Francesc Vendrell, the UN envoy to Kabul, arrives there today. Yesterday 100 British commandos from the Royal Marines’ Special Boat Service continued reconnaissance work at Bagram airfield, north of Kabul, and US specialist troops were at Mazar-i Sharif and Herat. A French advance party was also at Mazar-i Sharif. British defence sources said that coalition aircraft were also flying over parts of southern Afghanistan to check on the availability of airbases for future landing sites.
On the propaganda front, we have to concentrate on doing everything possible to make it clear to these people that we don't want to occupy their country and that is going to be a VERY hard thing to convince them of - especially since we are now vigorously courting the Russians and the Afghans have memories of fighting off men from the British Empire. People ought not forget that we are dealing with Asians; we don't value face like they do, so it's a good deal for us to let them save as much of it as possible.
Obviously Mr Masssoud is a clymer who thinks that the Northern Alliance actually beat the Taliban forces by themselves.
Now Kuwait is against us and for Bin Laden. What asswipes!
We should have let Iraq take them over.
Still, we have to have a stable setting for the search for Bin Laden & Company and for the return of the refugees. And these NA warlords need adult supervision.
Common sense tells you that this should have been made abundently clear before we land in their country. Our guys are on the ground, I don't want people shooting at them from both sides. A meeting with a couple of the top commanders would have this operation moving like silk.
No problem from a NYer. I'd let our guys (US) and the Brits finish "washing the windows" and then get the frig out. By the time the French show up, the Russians will have this all under control. They are the local forces in that part of the World. Let 'em keep it. Does anyone think that we (US) or the Brits give a sh!t about that rotten piece of real estate? We have the same barren real estate here in the US. It's referred to as "the Badlands" in South Dakota.
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