US Vice-President Joe Biden has apparently turned US policy on its head by saying that the Taliban are not enemies of the USA. His statement has not been contradicted by the White House. It is thus clear that Mr Biden’s remarks represent Obama Administration policy. This represents a major shift for an administration that has continued its predecessor’s policy of making the Taliban synonymous with Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda has been blamed squarely for the 9/11 attacks and the Taliban with them. Indeed, the reason cited by the Bush Administration for launching the war on terror by an invasion of Afghanistan, was that it was ruled by the Taliban, whose protection Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden enjoyed. Not satisfied with toppling the Taliban, the USA then pursued both Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters into Pakistan, and has waged a war since with the Taliban. The Taliban have resisted the US/NATO occupation of Afghanistan, and even though Al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden has been killed, the war of the USA with the Taliban is not over. Instead, the USA has said that it is now seeking not just the new Al-Qaeda chief, Dr Ayman Al-Zawahiri, but also Taliban chief Mullah Umar.
Though Vice-President Biden’s remarks represent a new turn in administration policy, they do not mean that the USA is rethinking the war on terror, merely that it is trying to open doors to the Taliban by ending the conflation it has maintained for a decade, between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. This is a direct result of the resistance it has met from Afghanistan, which has consistently argued that the Afghan situation cannot be solved without Taliban participation. As the time draws near for the USA to withdraw its forces in Afghanistan, it is increasingly coming round to this point of view. Another reason for the USA to make such relatively conciliatory noises has been provided by Pakistan's lessened cooperation after the Salalah checkpost killings.
Given the USA's own rethink of policy, it appears indicated for Pakistan to undergo a similar exercise. Assessment of losses in the war on terror must be carried out and in light of increasingly negative public opinion towards the war, withdrawal from it must be carried out in swift stages. While Pakistan has no enmity against any country, focus is needed on creating order within our borders and resources and energies devoted to the war can be better employed in creating order within.