US rules out any reconciliation with Al-Qaida

WASHINGTON: Close on the heels of the Obama Administration approving reconciliation efforts with the moderate elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the US categorically ruled out any similar settlement with Al-Qaida.

"We have no interest in any kind of reconciliation or any rapprochement by anyone with Al-Qaida," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a TV channel in an interview.

She asserted that the US has never talked about reconciliation with Al-Qaida. "Only the Taliban, we never said al-Qaida. We never said al-Qaida," she said.

Clinton said the Afghan Government is suggesting that a lot of the members of the Taliban are not hardcore convicted extremists.

"They are young men who have no education, no employment prospects, nothing to do. They get paid - the Taliban actually pays a higher rate to a young man who joins the Taliban than a young man who joins the police force," Clinton said.

The Secretary of State said leaders of the Taliban are in a syndicate relationship with Al-Qaida. "They are allies, they depend upon one another. Al-Qaida provides planning, logistical, financial support. The Taliban provides a safe haven," she said. "So its a totally interconnected relationship," she said.