By KIM SENGUPTA in London
The United States is withdrawing one-third of its force out of the offensive at Gardez in eastern Afghanistan amid signs of growing friction among its Afghan allies.
As the Americans began to pull out 400 of 1200 troops yesterday a local Pashtun commander called for Tajik fighters of the Afghan Government sent as reinforcement to be withdrawn too.
Some Pashtun leaders also spoke of their opposition to the continuing military action and said the remnants of the Taleban and al Qaeda should be given a chance to surrender.
But the US Army insisted that the partial withdrawal of its forces was a tactical move and Operation Anaconda would continue.
Military spokesman Major Brian Hilferty declared: "This is not over. If I were an al Qaeda guy, I would not go out for a pizza."
About 200 British Royal Marines are on standby on the carrier HMS Ocean, off the Pakistani coast, for possible deployment in Afghanistan.
The marines, trained in mountain warfare, would be suitable for the Gardez campaign. But the Ministry of Defence said no decision had been made to send them there.
Commander Mohammed Ismail, a Pashtun commander at Gardez, insisted that Hamid Karzai, the interim Afghan Prime Minister, should recall the Tajik fighters who might "claim the victory".
The commander's views reflected the traditional ethnic rivalries between the Tajiks of the Northern Alliance, who dominate the interim Government, and Pashtuns, who had comprised the vast majority of the Taleban.
The Kabul Administration had sent nearly 1000 Tajik troops, with 10 tanks, to join local Pashtuns, doubling the size of the Afghan force fighting alongside the Americans.
Commander Ismail said: "We propose to Hamid Karzai to instruct the newcoming troops to go back to their places of origin.
"I can assure you that we obey and support the interim Administration. The point is if the issue of Shahi Kot [the site of the battle] is resolved, Gul Haider's men may claim it, which we oppose."
Another Pashtun commander, Ali Ziauddin, voiced the concern at the American determination to persevere with the offensive.
"I never favoured military means and I still don't, as international resolutions have said that all bloodshed has to cease. I don't see why it has to keep going in this military direction," he said.
Meanwhile, one of Osama bin Laden's four wives has described how he moved his family to a safe house in a remote corner of Afghanistan just days before the September 11 attack.
In an interview with the Saudi magazine Al-Majalla, the woman, identified only as AS, also said bin Laden needed tranquillisers to help him to sleep, had disagreements with the Taleban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, and feared that he might be handed over to the Americans.
The wife said she believed bin Laden was still alive.
"I feel inside me that ... if he were dead, the whole world would know because the death of Osama cannot be concealed."
She said that a few days before September 11 bin Laden "came home and gave me a telephone and asked me to speak to my mother and tell her that we were going to another place, and I will be out of touch for a long time.
"We were taken to a place south, close to the Pakistani border ... with some of the children and lived in a cave for two months. Then we were taken to Pakistan where we were handed over to the Pakistani Government."
- INDEPENDENT
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Links: War against terrorism
Timeline: Major events since the Sept 11 attacks
Tactical pullout as friction grows in Afghanistan
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