Saudis, Pakistanis said to be directing U.S. Afghan policy
Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Friday, April 16, 1999
WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration has allowed Saudi Arabia
and Pakistan to direct U.S. policy toward Afghanistan, the result of
which has bolstered the rule of Taliban over that Asian country, a
congressional hearing was told.
"The U.S. has a very close relationship with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan
on matters concerning Afghanistan," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a
Republican from California. "But unfortunately, instead of providing
leadership, we are letting them lead our policy."
Rohrabacher said the United States has refused to promote democracy in
Afghanistan and instead has followed the wishes of Muslim regimes. "We
have repeatedly let the Muslim world off the hook when it comes to human
rights and democracy," he said. "There is
no doubt that the decisions that we have made in Afghanistan are now
undercutting the chances of democratic government and stability in
Pakistan."
Rohrabacher, a former White House aide, told the Senate Near Eastern
and South Asian Affairs subcommittee on Wednesday that the
administration has blocked Congress from investigating U.S. ties to the
Taliban. He said he witnessed U.S. officials in charge of helping Afghan
resistance fighters permit a large percentage of aid to be channeled to
Taliban, which he termed the "most anti-Western, anti-female, anti-human
rights regime in the world." He attributed this
to a U.S. effort to placate Pakistan's ISI military intelligence.
The congressman said the administration has refused to crack down on
the Taliban's lucrative opium trade. U.S. protection of Taliban, he
said, comes despite that group's close relationship with Osama Bin
Laden, the Saudi national believed to have directed the bombing of two
U.S. embassies in east Africa last year.
"I am making the claim that there is, and has been, a covert policy by
this administration to support the Taliban movement's control of
Afghanistan," Rohrabacher said. "It is my guess that this amoral or
immoral policy is based on the assumption that the Taliban would bring
stability to Afghanistan and permit the building of oil pipelines from
Central Asia, through Afghanistan, to Pakistan."
In New York, a letter by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
accused Pakistan of resupplying Taliban with weapons and said fighting
in Afghanistan will resume after the winter lull. Last week, Taliban
decided not to attend another round of U.N.-mediated negotiations.
The House representative said that over the last two years the State
Department undermined her efforts to help send two planeloads of
humanitarian aid to millions of starving Afghans in the center of the
country. Last spring, he said, administration officials convinced
anti-Taliban
forces to accept a ceasefire rather than go on the offensive. Again, he
said, this was done to placate Pakistan.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Karl Inderfurth told
the subcommittee that Rohrabacher's accusations were untrue. "Nothing
could be further from the truth," Inderfurth said, "no arms, no
training, nor any other form of assistance, nor any quiet
encouragement. Indeed, the only thing the Taliban has received from us
to date is condemnation for many of their repugnant practices, and
warnings that they are at risk as long as they provide shelter for Osama
Bin Laden and other terrorist activities in Afghanistan."
Friday, April 16, 1999
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