Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offered an olive branch Tuesday to Taleban fighters who reject Al-Qaeda and pressed an international conference for help in strengthening Afghanistan's security forces. More than 80 of Afghanistan's neighboring states or military and financial donors were attending a one-day conference in The Hague to brainstorm about how to stabilize Afghanistan seven years after the expulsion of the Taleban government. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Medhi Akhundzadeh was among the delegates - the first time the US and Iran have met at a conference table since President Barack Obama offered better relations with the Islamic republic. There was no indication that any US envoy would meet privately with the Iranians, and the two countries were separated on opposite ends of the table alphabetically. Clinton said most of the Taleban fighters have allied with anti-government forces “out of desperation” rather than commitment, in a country that has barely made inroads against poverty and lack of development. Karzai and Clinton said Afghanistan would welcome Taleban fighters who embrace peace and pledge to abide by the Afghan constitution. “They should be offered an honorable form of reconciliation and reintegration into a peaceful society, if they are willing to abandon violence, break with Al-Qaeda, and support the constitution,” Clinton said. Karzai said success against the insurgents “depends on a strategy that is shared, comprehensive and workable.” He applauded Obama's announcement last week that the United States would send in more troops, security trainers and civilian advisers. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, however, warned against interfering in his country. A regional approach to Afghanistan must include “respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and noninterference,” he said. Iran's Akhundzadeh, too, cautioned against losing sight of the conference's objectives of providing security and reconstruction for Afghanistan, “and refrain from any kind of deviation from this motto or from giving priority to political and military matters.”
