US President Barack Obamas timetable for US forces in Afghanistan rattled nerves in that country and Pakistan on Wednesday,prompting diplomats to scramble to reassure the two countries at the centre of Obamas war strategy that the US would not cut and run. In Afghanistan,Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta,the only minister who commented on the speech,said the announcement that American troops could begin leaving in 18 months served as a kind of shock therapy,but caused anxiety. Can we do it? he asked. That is the main question. This is not done in a moment. It is a process. In Pakistan,Obamas declaration fed longstanding fears that America would abruptly withdraw,leaving Pakistan to fend for itself. Many in Islamabad argued that the short timetable diminished any incentive for Pakistan to cut ties to Taliban militants,whom Pakistan might want to use to shape a friendly government in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal. Leaders in both countries,at least publicly,offered near silence or only a tepid embrace of the Obama plan on Wednesday. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari did not comment on the speech. Italy will send around 1,000 additional soldiers to Afghanistan as part of the planned troop increase,Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said in an interview published in the Corriere della Sera on Thursday. NYT Karzai willing to talk to Taliban KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday said that hes willing to talk with the Taliban chief in a bid to bring peace to the country if the move would have the backing of the US and other international partners. Karzai said that the target to begin troop withdrawals by the US would give an impetus and a boost for Afghans to work toward taking control of their own nation. We must talk to the Taliban as an Afghan necessity, Karzai said,adding that he would be willing to talk with Taliban chief Mullah Omar. AP
