The Taliban poses less of a threat to US security than al Qaeda, the White House said, raising speculation that President Barack Obama may not opt for a vastly increased counter-insurgency force in Afghanistan.
Officials involved in Obama's intense Afghan policy review argued that al Qaeda poses a grave danger to US interests and the American homeland while the Taliban, though hostile to US forces in Afghanistan, did not.
The assessments seemed to differ with the picture of the war painted by US commander General Stanley McChrystal, who asked for up to 40,000 more troops and warned that the counter-insurgency against the Taliban could fail without reinforcements.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who has ruled out any reduction in US forces in Afghanistan, said Obama had yet to make any firm decisions as he conducts an exhaustive Afghan policy review. But on Thursday he said there was "clearly a difference" between the two groups, styling al Qaeda as an "entity that, through a global, transnational jihadist network, would seek to strike the US homeland."
"I think that the Taliban are obviously exceedingly bad people that have done awful things. Their capability is somewhat different, though, on that continuum of transnational threats."
Officials denied a policy shift, saying that as far back as March, Obama had made a distinction between core Taliban fighters allied with al Qaeda and forces loyal to local commanders who had been coerced or paid to fight. Gibbs stressed Obama has always evaluated the US policy "based on those that pose a direct threat to attack our homeland or to attack our allies. Included in that group are any that would provide safe haven for those activities."
The United States and its allies launched air strikes eight years ago against the Taliban in Afghanistan, after it provided a haven for Osama bin Laden's network to plan the September 11 attacks in 2001. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a key player in the policy review, said the administration was studying whether to work with some members of the Taliban.
"We're in the midst of a very thorough analysis of our assumptions about how best to achieve our core goals of protecting our country, our interests and our friends and allies from the scourge of terrorism," Clinton told reporters.
She was replying to a question on whether she agreed with some Obama aides who believe Washington could under certain circumstances work with some Taliban elements. "We are looking at every possible question that can be raised, including the one that you just asked, in order to determine the smartest approach for the president to adopt."
Obama may take up McChrystal's troop request as early as Friday in the next meeting of his top diplomatic, military and intelligence advisers on war policy. A senior official earlier said in an interview with Thursday's New York Times that al Qaeda, believed now to be largely based in Pakistan, posed a "murderous" threat to US security.
"We want to destroy its leadership, its infrastructure and its capability," the official said. By contrast, the official described the Afghan Taliban as an indigenous group that wants to win back territory but does not itself pose a direct security threat to the United States. But one senior administration official said a focus on al Qaeda will not result in a withering of US action against Taliban insurgents.
"If you accept as a premise that you will not eradicate every last element of the Taliban, preventing it from providing sanctuary to al Qaeda or threatening the government will still require resources," the official said in Friday's Washington Post.