Afghan leader condemns U.S. anti-terror tactics

updated 3:00 p.m. ET June 22, 2006

KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai called Thursday for a reassessment of the U.S.-led coalition’s strategy for fighting terrorism, saying the current approach of hunting down militants does not focus on the root causes such as money, training, and motivation.

Karzai’s comments came after a new video from Al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri surfaced and urged Afghans to rise up against U.S.-led forces in their country.

Meanwhile, four U.S. soldiers were killed Wednesday in combat in eastern Afghanistan, the military said.

A clearly frustrated Karzai complained that the coalition’s hunt for Taliban militants was killing hundreds of Afghans, saying that “is not acceptable.” More than 600 people, mostly militants, have been killed in recent weeks as insurgents have launched their deadliest campaign of violence in years.

“I strongly believe ... that we must engage strategically in disarming terrorism by stopping their sources of supply of money, training, equipment and motivation,” Karzai said at a news conference.

“It is not acceptable for us that in all this fighting, Afghans are dying. In the last three to four weeks, 500 to 600 Afghans were killed. (Even) if they are Taliban, they are sons of this land,” he added.

Afghan and coalition forces have been targeting al-Qaida and Taliban militants along the Pakistan border since mid-April. They launched Operation Mountain Thrust in earnest last week with more than 10,000 Afghan, British, Canadian and U.S. troops deploying in the largest anti-Taliban offensive since the former regime’s 2001 ouster.

Civilians accidentally killed
Karzai has spoken out against coalition forces after several bombings mistakenly killed dozens of civilians earlier this year.

The Afghan president said he has repeatedly warned the international community in the past two years that a rise in militant activity in Afghanistan was expected.

Although there has been international funding in some areas of reconstruction, Karzai said he did not get help in strengthening the national police, the army and the government administration to prevent a resurgence of extremists.

“There has been help and assistance from the international community in some areas, but unfortunately, in some areas, there is no assistance or cooperation,” he said. “This is one of the reasons for the unhappiness between us and the international community. We did not get the assistance and cooperation that is necessary for a strategy for counterterrorism.”

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