Afghanistan: Was Italy Paying Off The Taliban Insurrection?

According to a report published in the British press today, the Italian secret service was paying off Taliban forces not to attack their troops in the Sarobi district of Afghanistan. Ten French soldiers died last year after failing to understand the risk in the area. The French forces thought they were taking control a relatively quiet part of the country. The Times claims this was because Italy’s secret service had been secretly paying local Taliban leaders in order to keep violence down.

The French troops had only been in the area for a month when they were ambushed by around 170 heavily armed Taliban fighters. Ten soldiers were killed in what remains the largest number of casualties for NATO, in a single incident. The Times said the French were not made aware of the Italian secret service payment to the Taliban. A senior NATO officer in Kabul told the Times that “It might make sense to buy off local groups, and use non-violence to keep violence down. But it is madness to do so and not inform your allies.”

In a statement released today, the office of Prime Minister Berlusconi vehemently denied the Times’ claims.

“We have never authorized any kind of money payment to members of the Taliban insurrection in Afghanistan, and have no knowledge of initiatives of this type by the previous government,” said a representative for Italy’s Prime Minister.

Italy’s Defense Minister, Ignazio La Russa, went a step further and said that “the Times report was meaningless.” NATO has not officially reacted to the Times’ allegations yet, but the controversy is likely to fuel tensions within the alliance.

To read the Times report click here.