New York Times.
17 September 2001. Pakistan Mission Fails to Get Taliban
to Deliver bin Laden. Excerpt, with editorial comment.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A Pakistani group of high-ranking military
officers met today inside Afghanistan with the Taliban government but
failed to convince it to hand over the accused terrorist Osama bin Laden
and his top associates to the United States.
After eight hours of meetings in Kandahar, the Taliban stronghold, the
Pakistani officials were reported to be "severely discouraged" at the
intransigence of the Taliban and its leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, who
set out several conditions for giving up Mr. bin Laden that seemed
impossible to meet.
These conditions were, according to Pakistani officials, that convincing
evidence of Mr. bin Laden's involvement in terrorism must be presented
to the Shura, as the Taliban's inner circle is called; that the
surrender of Mr. bin Laden must be approved by the Organization of the
Islamic Conference, an international organization whose membership
includes some militant Islamic groups; and that if Mr. bin Laden were to
be put on trial outside Afghanistan, at least one of the judges must be
a Muslim.
The Pakistani officials said that the delegation arrived in Kandahar to
tell the Taliban leaders that they had "only a few days" to hand over
Mr. bin Laden or face an eventual American military attack that would
almost certainly target the Taliban as well as Mr. bin Laden, and
possibly lead to American troops' entering Afghanistan.
Alternatively, the Taliban was to be told that if they agreed to hand
over Mr. bin Laden and his associates and close down all his training
camps, the Taliban would be left to continue in power.
[Imagine the US reply to, say, Chile, if they demanded Kissinger...]
-------------------------------------------
Macdonald Stainsby
Rad-Green List: Radical anti-capitalist environmental discussion.
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