"US general: Deal with tribe in Taliban bastion"

[Clio the Leo]

US general: Deal with tribe in Taliban bastion
BY PATRICK QUINN
Associated Pres
3.3.11

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The leaders of the largest tribe in a Taliban stronghold in southern Helmand province have pledged to halt insurgent attacks and expel foreign fighters from one of the most violent spots in the country, the senior U.S. Marine general in Afghanistan said Monday

Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, who commands coalition forces in the southwest, said the deal was struck between local elders in the Sangin district and Helmand Governor Gulabuddin Mangal with the consultation of coalition forces. The area has witnessed some of the heaviest fighting of the war.

However it is unlikely that the violence will cease immediately in Sangin as the die-hard Taliban leadership under the command of Mullah Mohammad Omar, which is based in the Pakistani city of Quetta, will keep fighting.

But the cooperation of the tribal leaders in the effort to rid the area of insurgents could help shorten the war in one of the most violent places in Afghanistan.

In the past four years, more than 100 British troops died in Sangin and more than a dozen Marine have lost their lives since their deployment in mid-October. Getting local tribal elders to renounce the Taliban and join the political process has been a key part of the U.S. counterinsurgency plan in Afghanistan.

As part of the deal, Mills said "there was also a pledge from the elders that fighting would cease by insurgents against coalition forces and foreign fighters would be expelled from the area."

He added that "we are cautiously optimistic of this agreement and will monitor whether it leads to reduced insurgent influence and a rejection of illicit activity."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-01-03-10-04-26

[Arctic Dave]

1. Awakening Councils Redux?

Wow. If we just paid them off from the beginning imagine how many lives would have been saved.

[dflprincess]

2. Until someone on the other side comes along with a bigger bribe

There must be a better way to spend our tax money.