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Jesse Jackson gets Taliban invitation©Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times, WASHINGTON -- Jesse Jackson said Wednesday that Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia has asked him to lead a "peace delegation" to the region. The civil rights activist said he has not decided whether to accept and remains reluctant to do so. But he suggested he is open to making the trip if his involvement could prevent the deaths of innocent Afghan civilians during a U.S. military campaign against terrorism. "We must weigh what this invitation means. We're not going to be precipitous," Jackson said. "If we can do something to encourage them to dismantle those terrorist bases, to choose to hand over the suspects and release the Christians rather than engage in a long bloody war, we'll encourage them to do so." Jackson said he spoke with Secretary of State Colin Powell, who repeated the Bush administration position that it will not negotiate with the Taliban but did not urge Jackson not to go. Jackson said he received the invitation to go to Pakistan in a telegram Wednesday from Mohammed Sohail Shaheen, a spokesman at the Taliban's embassy in Islamabad. The hard-line Islamic Taliban movement controls much of Afghanistan; Pakistan is the only nation that still recognizes them.
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From the Times wire desk Susan Taylor Martin
From the AP |
