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Int'l Control of Kabul, Peacekeeping Forces Mulled
The idea of designating the Afghan capital Kabul a demilitarized city under international control and dispatching peacekeeping forces has emerged during talks between the United States and the United Nations, U.S. government sources said Tuesday.
International control of other significant locations in Afghanistan is also being discussed, the sources said.
Placing the capital and main locations under international control without handing them over to a specific force is apparently aimed at facilitating the smooth implementation of a new government.
To prevent a battle over the capital between the ruling Taliban and the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, views were expressed within Afghanistan seeking the dispatch of ''U.N. forces'' to Kabul even before the start of the U.S.-led attacks, the sources said.
The U.S. and the U.N. plan to move toward promoting maintenance of security and supporting recovery through creating a new government which represents a wide range of forces, they said.
On the new government, the U.S. and U.N. agreed on a soft coalition government under which various forces will have autonomy in the areas they control, according to the sources.
The idea of placing the capital under international control came about as it is deemed impossible to dispatch peacekeeping forces throughout Afghanistan, the sources said.
In order to ease opposition by Afghan citizens, peacekeepers will comprise forces from Turkey, Jordan and other Islamic nations and a U.N. Security Council decision to dispatch the forces will be a prerequisite, they said.
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