Bush, Cheney Step Up Afghan Campaign
By BARRY SCHWEID
AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is stepping up its campaign to rattle the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, and Vice President Dick Cheney says the tactic appears to be working.
"We are getting reports back that show we're clearly having a significant impact on the Taliban," Cheney said Friday.
"There are reports now of defections, of areas of Afghanistan that are pulling away from the cent Taliban government," which has been bolstered by "lots of money, maybe $100 million" from Osama bin Laden, Cheney said on PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."
President Bush offered the Taliban a "second chance" in his Thursday night news conference. He said he would reconsider the U.S. bombing campaign if the Islamic militia that rules most of Afghanistan turned over bin Laden, the suspected terror leader.
One aim of the public message was to reassure skeptical nations that the United States is being fair and patient in its pursuit of terrorists.
Another, a senior U.S. official told The Associated Press, was to try to fragment the Taliban military.
Kabul does not have tight control over all commanders, and they are spread through the countryside, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. hope is that some might consider whether the continued presence of bin Laden and his al-Qaida network was worth the pummeling Afghanistan was taking, he said.
At the same time, U.S. policy-makers are being careful not to suggest the United States plans to decide who should rule Afghanistan, the official said. That could stir patriotic zeal for the Taliban.
All the United States seeks, the official said, is a government that does not operate as a base for terrorism and is acceptable to Pakistan, Iran and other neighbors.
There was no indication of a response to the president's offer from the Taliban, and U.S. targeting of terrorist sites in the South Asian country continued.
"We haven't had any particular discussions with the Taliban on this issue," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. "I haven't seen any reports that the Pakistani government has either."
In fact, Boucher said, "I don't think they've had any discussions for a week or more."
The offer stands for the Taliban to consider, but the administration has launched no new diplomatic initiative to try to cajole bin Laden's protectors in Kabul to act on it, senior officials said.
Pakistan, the only country maintaining diplomatic relations with the Taliban, can if it chooses to press the Taliban on Bush's offer, one official said.
But the administration is not urging Pakistan to take on that intermediary role, the official said.
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On the Net: State Department page: http://www.state.gov/s/ct/index.cfm?id=4291
Official White House page on situation: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/resources.html
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