White House refuses to brand Taliban as terrorist outfit

WASHINGTON (Pajhwok): Reiterating that the Taliban were not a terrorist outfit, the White House on Thursday said they were a dangerous organisation with tactics akin to terrorism.

“We have expended significant sums of money and American service members have given their lives fighting the Taliban because they do pose a threat to American interests and service members inside of Afghanistan,” the White House press secretary said.

When asked why Taliban were not considered a terrorist organisation, Josh Earnest said: “They (the Taliban) do carry out tactics that are akin to terrorism. They do pursue terror attacks in an effort to advance their agenda.”

The United States has designated the Taliban in such a way so as to put in place some financial sanctions against the leaders of that organisation.

“Now, what’s also true, is that it’s important to draw a distinction between the Taliban and Al Qaida. The Taliban has resorted to terror tactics, but those terror tactics have principally been focused on Afghanistan,” he said.

Explaining the difference between the Taliban and Al Qaeda, he said “that, however, Al Qaida is a terrorist organization that has aspirations that extend beyond just the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Al Qaida and their affiliates around the globe have sought to carry out terror attacks against Americans and American interests all around the globe,” he said

rm/mud

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