Taliban echoes Obama in Afghan policy

The Taliban, echoing US president Barack Obama's remarks on Afghanistan, warn that deploying more troops will result in more insurgent attacks.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid was quoted by AFP as saying on Monday that "as much as the foreign forces increase, fighting will increase and there will be increased civilian casualties."

In his comments made during a telephone call from an undisclosed location, Mujahid added that "there will be more opportunity for the Taliban to attack and the battle will expand."

The Taliban spokesman said that as long as the foreign troops stay in Afghanistan the fight would go on. He claimed that the solution to the ongoing situation is that foreigners leave the country without any terms and conditions.

Mujahid, whose remarks were directed at the visiting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, echoed Obama's speech on his Afghan strategy that "a campaign against extremism will not succeed with bullets or bombs alone."

Although the US president's strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan includes a pledge to deploy more troops, it also includes a greater emphasis on diplomacy, economic development and civilian deployment.

Mullen told reporters in Kabul Sunday that an extra 17,000 US troops would be deployed to Afghanistan in coming weeks.