Hoon "quite happy" for Kabul to fall
LONDON (Reuters) - Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon says he is happy for the Afghan opposition to take Kabul, in contrast to the U.S. position that a deal on any post-Taliban government should be reached first, the Sunday Times reported.
"I would be quite happy to see the Northern Alliance steam across northern Afghanistan and take Kabul," the Sunday Times quoted Hoon as saying.
The comments contradicted U.S. statements that the Northern Alliance would not be encouraged to enter Kabul until agreement was reached on the structure of any post-Taliban government.
"We will encourage our friends to head south... but not into the city of Kabul itself. And we believe we can accomplish our military missions by that strategy," President George W. Bush said on Saturday.
The opposition says it has seized key territory to open the way for an advance on Kabul. Northern Alliance Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah told Reuters on Sunday the opposition would prefer to await a political agreement before entering Kabul, but may take the city if there was a power vacuum.
"With winter on the horizon, they could fairly claim to have done enough, although we don't want to stop them at all," Hoon was quoted as telling the Sunday Times.
He said if the Northern Alliance managed to win control of the country north of a line stretching from the western city of Herat to Kabul, this would be a significant blow against the Taliban.
"The more ground they take, the fewer places Osama bin Laden and the Taliban have to hide. The advance to that line is all you can fairly expect of them. If it happens, it will be a remarkable achievement. If that leads to a suspension of the land war for winter, then that's fine," the paper quoted him as saying.
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