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Jackson might attempt mediation with Taliban
©New York Times
© St. Petersburg Times, WASHINGTON -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Thursday that he might try to meet with the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan in an effort to persuade them to hand over Osama bin Laden and his associates in the al-Qaida terrorist network. Jackson said he received a telephone call on Wednesday from Mohammad Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban Embassy in Pakistan, who suggested that he lead a delegation to Afghanistan to mediate between that nation's rulers and the United States. The Taliban's ambassador, however, was quoted in the Pakistani press as saying that Jackson had volunteered to mediate. Jackson said he had not decided whether to accept the invitation, though he said it was a sign the Taliban might want to open up communication with the West. He also said that in the absence of formal diplomatic relations between the United States and Afghanistan, "there must be some bridge, even a civilian bridge." "That's the most direct contact we've had with these guys since this happened," he said in a telephone interview Thursday. Jackson said that after receiving the call from Shaheen he contacted Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. The Taliban have provided a sanctuary for bin Laden, whom the United States says is the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Powell told reporters Thursday that he doubted that Jackson would accomplish anything by meeting with Taliban leaders. "He is free to travel," Powell said when asked if he objected to a mission by Jackson. "I don't know what purpose would be served right now, since the position of the United States and the international community is quite clear." Powell said he had spoken twice with Jackson -- once Wednesday night and once Thursday morning -- and had reiterated the administration's position that the Taliban government must surrender bin Laden or risk a military reprisal. There was some confusion over who proposed Jackson's trip. In Islamabad, Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, said Jackson would be welcomed by the Taliban, but he also said Jackson had volunteered to come. "He offered to mediate, and our leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, has accepted this offer," Zaeef told the Afghan Islamic Press, a pro-Taliban news agency. "It is not important how the contact was made, but that the contact was made," Jackson told CNN. In the 1980s, Jackson persuaded the Syrian government to release a captured U.S. airman and secured the release of several Cuban political prisoners. In 1990, Jackson helped secure the release of U.S. and European hostages held in Iraq as human shields against a U.S. military attack. In the interview Thursday, Jackson said that he did not want to travel to Afghanistan. But almost in the same breath, he explained why such a trip could be fruitful, recalling some of his previous missions abroad. "It's my choice to go or not to go," he said. "I've walked this line before. I'm sensitive to the significance of that line." Jackson read from a transcript of the statements he said Shaheen had made to him. "We would like to see the situation resolved in a way that preserves the dignity and the integrity of all sides," Jackson read. "War and bloodshed are easy. But peace is difficult." Jackson suggested that the Taliban's communication could open a way toward resolving the standoff with the United States. "At least let's read every sign," he said, referring to the overtures from the Taliban. Jackson also said he would seek the release of two U.S. aid workers and six other international relief workers who were jailed by the Taliban government for preaching Christianity.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
