Karzai seeks support for new offensive, promises consultations first скачать в хорошем качестве

Karzai seeks support for new offensive, promises consultations first

(4 Apr 2010) SHOTLIST 1. Crowd of tribal elders gathered in room 2. Mid of Afghan President Hamid Karzai being welcomed on stage, petals on his head 3. SOUNDBITE (Pashto) Hamid Karzai, Afghan President: ++AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING++ "Dearest Taliban, do not fight or get support against your own country. The support from other people is limited." 4. Mid of Karzai seated on stage 5. SOUNDBITE (Pashto) Hamid Karzai, Afghan President: ++AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING++ "The people standing with al-Qaida who are fighting against their own land and killing people - they are not allowed to come to Afghanistan and they need to seek treatment outside. We will never talk or negotiate with terrorists, terrorists who explode bombs here and there." 6. Audience gathered in room to see Karzai STORYLINE Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought on Sunday to rally public support for an upcoming military operation in Kandahar, promising that US and NATO troops would push into insurgent areas there only after consultations with community leaders. His remarks, to about 2,000 officials and tribal elders in the birthplace of the Taliban, reflect a NATO strategy that gives priority to bolstering the stature and capabilities of the Afghan government in Kandahar, the biggest city in the volatile south, alongside the policy of military operations against insurgents. US and NATO forces are preparing a summer campaign, expected to kick into high gear in June. Karzai and General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, flew together early on Sunday to the southern city of Kandahar, where trepidation is rising over the planned offensive against entrenched Taliban forces. Karzai criticised people who supported the Taliban, saying that they were "fighting against their own land and killing people." "We will never talk or negotiate with terrorists, terrorists who explode bombs here and there," he added. The meeting comes amid tensions with Washington over Karzai''s scathing accusations of foreign interference in last year''s elections, that threaten to derail his main foreign backer''s trust in his leadership. Karzai attempted to contain the damage with a telephone conversation on Saturday with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, but his allegations laid bare the growing frostiness in relations as the United States and NATO build up troop levels to try to turn back the Taliban. Most of the 30-thousand new troops promised by US President Barack Obama will be heading to Kandahar and the surrounding province. Speaking to the gathering, held under tight security at the governor''s compound, Karzai said he knew people in the area were fearful of the coming offensive. He pledged to discuss tribal leaders'' concerns with them and said the military action would bring security. Also present at the meeting, known as a shura, was the president''s younger brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, a high-ranking Kandahar official and key source of support in the south, despite having been publicly accused of being a major drug lord, but he denies any involvement in drugs. Mark Sedwill, NATO''s current senior civilian representative, also attended. McChrystal did not address the gathering, but has said he foresaw a series of targeted actions in Kandahar to steadily drive out the Taliban, rather than the D-Day style assault launched in Marjah in neighbouring Helmand province. After eight years in power, the central government''s writ counts for little outside the capital Kabul, especially in the south, where the Taliban emerged as a political and military force in the 1990s. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...