According to a senior State Department official, the United States is considering the possibility of using military force to free the 21 South Korean hostages detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The Taliban had held 23 South Koreans as hostages on July 19, and threatened to murder them if their demands were not met. Most of the hostages were female Christian workers. The bodies of two male hostages have been discovered till date.
The tactful efforts of the South Koreans in persuading Afghanistan to act in response to the Taliban demands for the liberation of militant captives had been unsuccessful. Afghanistan is hesitating to take such a decision probably because of the U.S. criticism faced by them earlier this year, for freeing prisoners to gain the release of an Italian hostage.
Therefore, the South Korean government had asked for the help of the United States in releasing the hostages through mutual negotiation. The consecutive murder of the two male hostages followed this.
The United States, on the other hand, does not seem to be willing to go into any kind of compromise with the Talibans.
Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, told reporters that U.S. resistance towards concessions to ‘terrorists’ stay unaltered. Instead, the U.S. is keener on using military force to end the ordeal.
Boucher’s comments also seem to be in disagreement with those of a South Korean official who had said that the foreign minister of Seoul, Song Min-Soon, and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte had decided in a meeting that freeing the hostages safely was their chief concern, which certainly rules out a military endeavor to finish the clash.
All pressures need to be applied to the Taliban to get them to release these hostages. We hope that pressure can be effective in a variety of ways, the goal is to get these people released unharmed, to get them released peacefully and safely. We will all make efforts together to try to encourage that.
- he said.
A number of time limits set by the Taliban for the Afghan government to release the militant prisoners in exchange for the release of the hostages have passed. A South Korean delegation is due to gather for a discussion on the predicament with top U.S. officials.
In the meantime, South Korean and Afghan officials are looking for a suitable place in Afghanistan for a meeting with the Taliban in person. They have agreed to hold face-to-face discussions with the Taliban to request the release of the hostages, as gathered from a chief negotiator.
The situation is tough indeed for U.S. and especially for South Korea. On one hand, the U.S. is fighting for its decision of not submitting to the Taliban by giving way to any of their demands. On the other hand, the lives of 21 innocent people are at stake. Will these people become the victims of a political catastrophe?
Via : USA Today
Image Credit : Uzbekistan Embassy, BBC
