Musharraf discusses Afghan strategy

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says any exit strategy from Afghanistan must come after eliminating al-Qaida and defeating the Taliban.

"The exit strategy from Afghanistan must not and cannot be time related," Musharraf, who also was the country's military chief, wrote in a piece for The Wall Street Journal. "We must eliminate al-Qaida, dominate the Taliban militarily, and establish a representative, legitimate government in Afghanistan."

Musharraf, who became Pakistan president in 1999 after a military coup, said he is frequently asked during his U.S. trips how America can stop losing in Afghanistan. He said that since a military solution alone cannot guarantee success, Afghan civilians must take charge of their country.

He said after the Taliban had established control in virtually all of Afghanistan in 1996, he had proposed recognizing "the Taliban regime, in the hope of transforming them from within."

Musharraf claimed if that strategy had been implemented "we might have persuaded the Taliban to deny a safe haven to al-Qaida and avoided the tragic" Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

"The Pakistan military must continue to act strongly. Operationally, we must raise substantially more forces from within the tribal groups and equip them with more tanks and guns. On the Afghan side, the U.S. and (International Security Assistance Force) troops must be reinforced. All of this must be done in combination with raising additional Afghan national army troops, with significant Pashtun representation," Musharraf wrote.

On the political front, the former Pakistani leader said there needs to be an invigorated dialogue with all groups in Afghanistan, including the Taliban.