Peace with Taliban Should be from Position of Strength, Not Weakness: Dostum

In responding to a recent effort by President Ashraf Ghani’s push to bring the Taliban into peace talks while the country continues to be crippled by almost daily terror attacks and suicide bombings; first Vice President Gen. Dostum said the reconciliation policy must be from the positon of strength and not weakness.

In responding to a recent effort by President Ashraf Ghani’s push to bring the Taliban into peace talks while the country continues to be crippled by almost daily terror attacks and suicide bombings; first Vice President Gen. Dostum said the reconciliation policy must be from the positon of strength and not weakness.
“Reconciliation with the Taliban should be handled from the position of strength, and not from the position of appeasement and weakness,” Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum told Fox News from his residence in Ankara, Turkey.
“We can reach a peaceful settlement with Taliban, if we are determined to win the war,” said Dostum. “So by softening the tone asking Taliban for reconciliation, we failed. And neither will it work in the future. The reconciliation policy must be from the position of strength and not weakness.”
Dostum also said he has a six-month plan to squash the terrorist threat in Afghanistan – starting with an effort to sweep out Taliban elements in the north of the country.
“We warmly welcome President Trump’s strategy, which shows U.S. sustainable commitment for a stable Afghanistan,” he said. “But the presence of large numbers of U.S. troops on the ground and air strikes will not help to achieve the goals, unless the U.S. engages with our local population who are willing and effective to fight terrorism on the ground.”
“I defeated Taliban and Al-Qaida with U.S. forces and U.S. air support, in just less than two months,” he added. “I’m the same Dostum and I always here to be your partner to address any challenges, – with less U.S. blood and treasure.”