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    MFR NARA - NA - Afghanistan - Khalili Karim - 10-23-03 - 01213

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    9/11 Document Archive
    The memorandum summarizes an interview with Afghan Vice President Karim Khalili at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on October 23, 2003. Khalili described the brutal oppression of Hazaras by the Taliban regime in Bamian province, where over 10,000 Hazaras were killed. He stated that al-Qaeda trained the Taliban and provided funding, and that the groups were ideologically and financially intertwined. Khalili stressed the need for continued US assistance and presence in Afghanistan to solidify security and democratic gains.

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    MFR NARA - NA - Afghanistan - Khalili Karim - 10-23-03 - 01213

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    The memorandum summarizes an interview with Afghan Vice President Karim Khalili at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on October 23, 2003. Khalili described the brutal oppression of Hazaras by the Taliban regime in Bamian province, where over 10,000 Hazaras were killed. He stated that al-Qaeda trained the Taliban and provided funding, and that the groups were ideologically and financially intertwined. Khalili stressed the need for continued US assistance and presence in Afghanistan to solidify security and democratic gains.

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    MFR NARA- NA- Afghanistan- Khalili Karim- 10-23-03- 01213

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    The memorandum summarizes an interview with Afghan Vice President Karim Khalili at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on October 23, 2003. Khalili described the brutal oppression of Hazaras by the Taliban regime in Bamian province, where over 10,000 Hazaras were killed. He stated that al-Qaeda trained the Taliban and provided funding, and that the groups were ideologically and financially intertwined. Khalili stressed the need for continued US assistance and presence in Afghanistan to solidify security and democratic gains.

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    Download as pdf or txt
    51 views3 pages

    MFR NARA - NA - Afghanistan - Khalili Karim - 10-23-03 - 01213

    Uploaded by

    9/11 Document Archive
    The memorandum summarizes an interview with Afghan Vice President Karim Khalili at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on October 23, 2003. Khalili described the brutal oppression of Hazaras by the Taliban regime in Bamian province, where over 10,000 Hazaras were killed. He stated that al-Qaeda trained the Taliban and provided funding, and that the groups were ideologically and financially intertwined. Khalili stressed the need for continued US assistance and presence in Afghanistan to solidify security and democratic gains.

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    of 3

    • Interviewee:

    Location:
    MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

    Afghan Vice President Karim Khalili


    Presidential Palace, Kabul, Afghanistan
    Date: Thursday, October 23, 2Q03
    Participants: Philip Zelikow, Kevin Scheid,
    Mike Hurley; David Sedney (Charge,
    U.S. Embassy Kabul)
    Drafted by: Mike Hurley
    Reviewed by: Philip Zelikow
    Additional Info: None

    Background

    Karim Khalili is one of four Vice Presidents of the Afghan


    Transitional Administration headed by President Hamid
    Karzai. Khalili is a Hazara Shi'a and was a military

    •
    commander and leader of Bamian Province, which has a
    substantial Shi'ite population. A large number of Shi'ites
    were murdered and inhabitants of Bamian suffered enormously
    under the'Taliban regime.

    9/11 Classified Information

    9/11 Personal Privacy

    Khalili pescribes Pre-9/ll

    The Government of Pakistan, in particular ISID, supported


    the Talbian he said. The Taliban used"the lawlessness
    prevailing in Afghanistan in the mid-1990's to offer. an

    •
    alternative to a people fed up with chaos ·and factional
    fighting, and this was how they consolidated control .

    1
    •
    The Taliban hated the Hazaras and killed more than 10,000
    in Bamian. Their oppression and cruelty broke the dignity
    and pride of people, he said, and Bamian inhabitants lost
    their fighting spirit for a time. The last six months of
    Taliban rule were the worst.

    Khalili said Taliban forces were better trained than they


    have been given credit for. They had good communications
    and were effective in fighting the Northern Alliance.

    Al-Qaida-Taliban Ties'

    AI-Qaida trained the Taliban. Usama bin Ladin provided


    money to Mullah Ornar and the Taliban in general. The
    Taliban also made money through narcotics trafficking. He
    said that al-Qaida was "allied mentally, philosophically,
    religiously, and emotionally with the Taliban."

    Khalili thought that the al-Qaida/Taliban brew. was a lethal


    threat not only to the region but also to the west and in
    particular the U.S; "These people were your enemies," he

    •
    said, "~hen you didn't even know it."

    He said that U.S. diplomatic measures toward pressuring the


    Taliban to eject UBL from Afghanistan or turn him over the
    the Pakistanis or the U.S. were doomed from the start. He
    made clear that there was zero chance of this ever
    happening. "They [al-Qaida] were too tightly intergrated
    .with Omar and the Taliban." Moreover, the Pakistanis had
    there own reasons for dragging their feet on the al-Qaida
    problem. The Pakistanis, ~e said, had created the Taliban,
    and supported it for a number of years. They would not
    likely turn on it now, unless great pressure were applied
    to them.

    Where Afghanistan and Bamian Are Now

    He lamented that the United Nations has done nothing


    significant in Bamian, this puzzled him and he asked: "Why
    is nothing happening? They are losing a good opportunity."
    Most financial aid has been given to NGOs and not been seen
    by the people. "We need road networks," he said. "In
    certain places there are people who are more than 60 years

    ••
    old who have never seen a vehicle. The first time they
    actually see one, they will think that a demon has come
    from the underworld."

    2
    • "And there is a pressing need for clinics. We have one for
    about 300, 000 people. Our needs are very. basic, but we can
    do better than this." There is now a Provincial
    Reconstruction Team (PRT) there, which he regards as a good
    development.

    Democracy in Afghanistan

    The Constitution that is being drafted is better than the


    1964 Constitution. It is an important step in our journey
    toward democracy. It will say that the religion of
    Afghanistan is Islam but it'will grant freedom of practice
    to other rel.lgions. "Unless we implement democracy, we
    will not be able to reach our goals of a stable and .secure
    Afghanistan that is a good and reliable neighbor in Central
    Asia."

    Relations with the u.s.


    The people of Bamian wer~ elated by' the fall of the -Taliban
    and are generaliy favorable toward the Karzai government

    •
    and they "warmly welcome the presence of American Forces."
    He said that many U.s. commanders and soldiers have told
    him, "While we are in Bamian we think we 'are in
    Washington."

    He assessed the level of cooperation with the U.s. as


    excellent. "We are grateful to the U.S.," he said, "and we
    are fighting on the same front against terrorism." We have
    to "defeat the mentality of the Tal.iban and of terrorists."
    He stressed that the U.S. must continue its presence in and
    assistance to Afghanistan for a long time, if not, "we will
    lose all that we have gained."

    •• 3

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