WASHINGTON: The death of Osama bin Laden could turn around the Afghanistan war by hastening a political settlement with the Taliban, although it is too early to halt US combat involvement, a senior US lawmaker and a top commander said Tuesday.
”I think there is great potential for many of the insurgents to say, hey, I want to reintegrate” into Afghan society by laying down arms and renouncing terrorism, Army Maj. Gen. John Campbell told reporters at the Pentagon from his headquarters in eastern Afghanistan.
Videos released by the US government on Saturday depicting a gray-bearded bin Laden wrapped in a blanket, watching himself on TV Campbell described him as ”alone and desperate” could send a powerful message to dispirited rank-and-file Taliban fighters, he said.
”I think the insurgents are going to see this and say, hey, why am I doing this,” he said. Campbell, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, is responsible for military operations throughout eastern Afghanistan, along a 450-mile border with Pakistan.
Asked about possible US troop withdrawals from his area of responsibility, Campbell declined to discuss specifics. Officials have said Gen. David Petraeus, the top US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, has yet to submit his recommendations on troop withdrawals to the Pentagon.
Campbell was emphatic, however, that the bin Laden death should not lead to a sudden US pull-out.
”I don’t think the war is over,” Campbell said. He said bin Laden’s death has had little immediate impact in eastern Afghanistan.
Campbell said US and Nato communication with the Pakistani military along the Afghan border was cut off for a couple of days after the US raid on bin Laden’s Pakistan compound, but contact has since been restored.
