The defence Bill due to be signed by US president Barack Obama yesterday contains a new provision that would pay Taliban fighters who renounce the insurgency, Senate armed services committee chairman Carl Levin has said.
The provision establishes a programme in Afghanistan similar to one used in Iraq where former fighters were reintegrated into Iraqi society, Mr Levin said.
Reaching out to moderate Taliban members is part of the Obama administration’s plan to turn around the eight-year war in Afghanistan. Mr Levin has also advocated trying to convince Taliban fighters to change sides by luring them with jobs and amnesty for past attacks.
Under the legislation, Afghan fighters who renounce the insurgency would be paid for “mainly protection of their towns and villages”, Mr Levin said.
It would be “just like the sons of Iraq”, he said, referring to the programme used in Iraq which military commanders say helped turn around a failing war.
“You got 90,000 Iraqis who switched sides, and are involved in protecting their hometowns against attack and violence.”
The Bill authorises using money from an existing commanders’ emergency response programme, which US commanders can use for a variety of purposes. It does not set a specific figure for the fighters’ reintegration programme.
A sum of $1.3 billion (€880 million) has been authorised for the fund in the 2010 fiscal year, which began on October 1st. The money must still be allocated by defence appropriators, who are working to finish the legislation.
As part of his overall strategy review on Afghanistan, Mr Obama is debating whether to send more US troops to the region and is set to meet Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and the heads of the military services, on Friday, the White House said. The meeting was “probably getting toward the end” of Mr Obama’s decision-making process, said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
The joint chiefs office recently completed an internal assessment of the two leading proposals for troop levels in Afghanistan. These were sending roughly 40,000 additional troops, as the top Afghanistan commander, Gen Stanley McChrystal, has recommended, or a far smaller number.