Afghan elders enlisted to sway Taliban

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- New U.S. efforts to persuade rank-and-file Taliban fighters to switch sides have begun in Afghanistan with a meeting of tribal leaders, observers say.

Leaders of 25 Afghan tribes met recently in an ornate palace in Jalalabad, where one-time warlord Gul Agha Shirzai urged tribal elders to work on converting Taliban fighters to support the government of President Hamid Karzai with promises of U.S.-backed development projects, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Shirzai, who was once picked by U.S. military commanders to be the governor of restive Kandahar province -- now considered the heartland of the Taliban insurgency -- told the elders, "O.K., I want you guys to go out there and persuade the Taliban to sit down and talk. Do whatever you have to do. I'll back you up."

The Times said the U.S. efforts calls for tribal elders to pick what development projects they want, thus giving them a stake in Karzai's shaky government and perhaps persuading them to switch sides. The newspaper said efforts on that front have so far produced few results, with only about 9,000 insurgents so far turning in their weapons and agreeing to abide by the Afghan Constitution.