SM Krishna hits nail on the head, for once

Foreign minister SM Krishna may have hit the right note for once, perhaps unwittingly. In an interview to The Wall Street Journal, Krishna called for a political settlement in Afghanistan. This was naturally interpreted to mean an understanding with the moderate Taliban.

The BJP slammed the comment, and the foreign ministry rushed with a rejoinder that the minister was misquoted. “There is no change in India’s policy towards Afghanistan… he [Krishna] did not say there should be a political settlement with the Taliban,’’ it said.
But the fact is India’s current position, that there is no good or bad Taliban, may fly against the opinion of not just Afghan president Hamid Karzai but also the entire international community fighting an unsuccessful battle against the Taliban.

With over 1,00,000 US and Nato troops on the ground and the war against the Taliban making little headway, leading to fears that the US may get bogged down in an unpopular Vietnam-like situation, talk is now veering round to getting the moderate Taliban on board. Obama highlighted the success of the US strategy of weaning away Sunni fighters in Iraq from the al Qaeda and bringing them to the negotiating table.

The idea of cooperation with some in the Taliban has been talked about for months by US military commanders, including General David Petraeus, head of US Central Command.
So, for a change, Krishna may have hit the nail on the head. New Delhi may be reacting to the BJP criticism by saying the minister was misquoted, but sooner or later, it will have to correct its stand.

It will have to make a distinction between hardline Taliban ideologues, such as the one-eyed Mullah Omar, and those who are with him because there is no choice. It is, of course, another matter that Karzai is willing to talk even with the Mullah and the Americans are not averse to it, as that will keep the Taliban away from the al Qaeda.

The chances of getting the anti-American Mullah and his core group to make peace with Karzai and, by extension, the US and other western powers are dim. But even if Karzai can get the lower ranks of fighters to break away thro-ugh money and promise of better prospects, some prog-ress would be made. The important issue for the Obama administration is to make an honourable exit from Afgha-nistan before the 2012 presidential poll.

The foreign ministry realises that at some point, India will have to tweak its policy of branding all Taliban with the same brush.