An Afghan ex-diplomat says the US supplies arms to the Taliban to jeopardize the security situation and have an excuse to stay in Afghanistan. Vahid Mujda, a former official with the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told IRIB that during the past two years there have been reports indicating that NATO-led forces have been helping the Taliban in some troubled areas. On December 2007, Michael Semple, the deputy head of the EU mission in Afghanistan, and Mervyn Patterson, another EU official, were ordered out of the country after reports showed that they had offered aid and development incentives to tribal elders in the Taliban heartlands.
Mujda said the US invaded the country on the pretext of fighting terrorism but Washington actually wanted to create a base in the area to exercise pressure on its rivals and on the surrounding countries. He continued that as the next Afghan presidential election is due next year, there are reports that Washington has started direct talks with the Taliban to secure the event, adding that some meetings have been held in the UAE who is mediating the process.
Mujda did not dismiss the rumors that the US would give the Taliban an important role in the next Afghan administration. He said that the US has faced many problems in Afghanistan in fighting terrorism and drug trafficking. Moreover, the Bush administration has faced financial problems at home, thus it is possible that Washington is seeking another solution to the Afghan problem, namely through dialogue.
Meanwhile, both Afghan and Pakistani Taliban have repeatedly said that they would agree to initiate peace talks on the condition that the foreign forces leave Afghanistan.
The diplomat added although, Pakistan has disappointed Washington in brokering a peace deal with the insurgents, the US needs to remain friends with Islamabad for it is the only way logistic supplies could reach the coalition forces in Afghanistan. Furthermore, one way to jeopardize the security situation in Afghanistan is for the US to encourage more cross border attacks by the Taliban from Pakistan's territory, Mujda concluded.