KABUL – Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought Sunday to rally public support for an upcoming military operation in the Taliban's birthplace, promising that US and NATO troops will push into insurgent areas there only after consultations with community leaders. His remarks to about 2,000 officials and tribal leaders in Kandahar reflect a NATO strategy that makes bolstering the stature and capabilities of the Afghan government in the city, the largest in southern Afghanistan, as important as clearing neighborhoods of insurgents. "There will be no military operation without your cooperation and consultation," Karzai told the leaders as the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, and NATO's top civilian representative, Mark Sedwill, looked on. As Karzai was appealing for public support, NATO confirmed that international troops were responsible for the deaths of five people, including three women, killed Feb. 12 in Gardez south of Kabul. A NATO statement said a joint international-Afghan patrol fired on two men mistakenly believed to be insurgents. The three women were "accidentally killed as a result of the joint force firing at the men," it said. US and NATO forces are preparing a campaign in Kandahar expected to kick into high gear in June that will test President Barack Obama's gamble that tens of thousands more troops can turn the tide in the 8-year war. NATO hopes to wrap up the operation by Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting and prayer that begins in early August. Both US and Afghan commanders have emphasized the need for support among Kandahar's half million people, most of whom are members of the same Pashtun ethnic group as the Taliban. The Taliban was organized in Kandahar in the early 1990s and made the city their headquarters before they were ousted from power in the 2001 US-led invasion. Securing Kandahar is considered the key to turning back the Taliban in the south, which is the main battlefront of the war. A NATO service member was killed Sunday by a bomb in southern Afghanistan, NATO said without specifying the location or the victim's nationality. During his speech, Karzai, who was born in a village near Kandahar, appealed to tribal leaders to send their sons to the Afghan army and police to show support for the government and to participate in a nationwide peace conference expected in Kabul next month. He noted that of 270 recent graduates of the Afghan officers' academy, only two came from Kandahar. Karzai also announced he would increase monthly salaries of district chiefs from about $75 to more than $400 to attract talented people and discourage bribery and kickbacks. "Afghanistan will stand on its own feet when people have trust in their president and cooperate with their government," Karzai said. He repeated a call for Taliban not linked to al-Qaida to lay down their arms and join a government reconciliation program. But some in the crowd made clear that they would cooperate with the government only when it can guarantee their safety. Although Kandahar is under nominal government control, Taliban fighters have been infiltrating into the city from villages to the north and west.
