Army General David Petraeus says U.S. and Iran have a common interest in quelling the Taliban in Afghanistan; calls on India, Russia, China and the former Soviet republics in Central Asia for crafting a regional strategy

Petraeus: US, Iran Share Some Common Goals in Afghanistan

 

TEHRAN (FNA)- Army General David Petraeus said the US and Iran have some “common interests” and goals in Afghanistan that could lead the two countries toward a degree of cooperation in quelling Taliban insurgents.

 

“I’m sure there is an element that is determining how they can make life miserable for the coalition and the alliance and Afghan forces as well,” The commander of US forces in the Middle East and Central Asia told reporters yesterday after speaking at a conference on Afghanistan in Washington.

 

Petraeus, 56, spoke as US officials and military leaders are conducting strategic policy reviews to try to chart a course that can reverse deteriorating security in Afghanistan. Insurgent attacks last year rose to the highest level since the Taliban were ousted from power by US-led forces in 2001.

 

The common points of interest between the US and Iran include a mutual desire to prevent a Taliban return to power and to curb the drug trafficking that helps fund the insurgents, Petraeus said.

 

“Iran is concerned about the narcotics trade,” Petraeus told the conference. “It doesn’t want to see Sunni extremists or ultra-fundamentalist extremists running Afghanistan again any more than other folks do. Having said that, there are some pretty substantial points of conflict out there as well.”

 

Separate reviews are being conducted by the White House, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Petraeus’s Central Command. Petraeus said two of the reviews are now complete, while the one by his command isn’t yet final.

 

Petraeus indicated that his review would likely emphasize the need for a regional approach to Afghanistan that addresses the sanctuary enjoyed by the Taliban along the country’s rugged border with Pakistan.

 

“Afghanistan and Pakistan have in many ways merged into a single problem set, and the way forward in Afghanistan is incomplete without a strategy that includes and assists Pakistan,” he said in his remarks to the conference.

 

Petraeus said the US must also involve India, Russia, China and the former Soviet republics in Central Asia in crafting a regional strategy.

 

The Central Asian nations that border Afghanistan to the north are important because the US hopes to open an alternative supply route through them that would make it less dependent on the current route through Pakistan. Petraeus said US officials are “focusing on” developing such a route.

 

As to the possibility of drawing Iran into a cooperative regional strategy, Petraeus said he would leave that issue to “the diplomats and policy makers.”

 

The US and Iran haven’t had diplomatic relations since shortly after the 1979 Iranian revolution. The outgoing Bush administration said it would open talks with Iran only if the government in Tehran ends its uranium enrichment program.

 

Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

 

Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

 

Yet, US President-elect Barack Obama, during last year’s campaign, expressed a willingness to begin negotiations without any preconditions.

 

There are currently about 32,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan and another 31,000 from other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to the Defense Department and NATO.

 

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, has said that another 20,000 to 30,000 American soldiers will be added this year, although the timing of their arrival remains uncertain.

 

In addition to adding troops, Petraeus said the US and its partners must also add civilian resources to Afghanistan to improve the nation’s economy and governance.

 

The ability of the US to increase its forces in Afghanistan is partially dependent on the pace of its troop withdrawals in Iraq, according to Pentagon officials.

 

Petraeus declined to say how quickly the US could draw down from the current level of 143,000 personnel in Iraq.