By David Blair in Mazar-i-Sharif
A joint team from the SAS and American Special Forces has brokered a deal between two of Afghanistan's most powerful warlords, using warrior-diplomacy in an attempt to bring order to the lawless north.
Gen Abdul Rashid Dostum, 47, and Gen Mohammed Ustad Atta, 37, met in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, a stone's throw from the glittering blue dome of the Tomb of Ali, one of the holiest sites in Islam.
The rival warlords sat close together in a large, ornate meeting room, although their respective minions occupied the four chairs between them. Opposite sat a row of six Caucasian men in civilian clothes, equipped with green backpacks containing radios, handguns and loaded magazines.
One spoke with a Cockney accent, at least two were American. Gen Dostum later described them as "British and American Special Forces". These soldiers have now assumed the role of warrior-diplomats.
The battle for supremacy between Gen Dostum and Gen Atta poses, say Western diplomats, a greater threat to Afghanistan's stability than any Taliban or al-Qa'eda remnants. "They have the capacity to cause mayhem," said one.
During their two-and-a-half-hour meeting last Thursday, Gen Dostum and Gen Atta agreed to establish a joint anti-terrorism unit, with troops drawn from both of their factions.
Speaking at the headquarters of his forces, Gen Atta told The Daily Telegraph that he and Gen Dostum would each contribute 50 men to a 150-strong unit. The remaining soldiers would come from three minor factions.
Aid workers have given warning that open warfare could erupt between rival factions in a swathe of northern Afghanistan where the Kabul government has no control. But Gen Dostum, who has earned notoriety during his 23-year career in bloodshed by changing sides on numerous occasions, is now anxious to rebuild his image.
Reclining in the shade of a tree outside his home in Kod-e-Barq, west of Mazar-i-Sharif, Gen Dostum said: "You can call me a peacelord, not a warlord. Now I am a man of peace. I am against fighting. But I was a warlord when it was necessary to be a warlord.
"I fought to liberate Afghanistan from foreign invading forces, from foreign puppet regimes. I fought against the Taliban and their collapse began here, in the north, because of me."
In fact, Gen Dostum supported the Soviet occupation of 1979-89.
He led the brutal Jowzjan militia alongside the Red Army and earned a Communist decoration. He disciplined his troops by lashing offenders to the tracks of tanks and crushing them.
At one stage, Gen Dostum also backed the Taliban. He has, at various stages, been either an enemy or a friend of every faction in the quicksands of Afghan politics.
An Uzbek with a private army of about 7,000, Gen Dostum leads the Jombesh faction that dominates the northern provinces of Jowzjan and Faryab.
But deft political manoeuvring has left Gen Atta, a Tajik from the Jamiat-e-Islami faction, in a position to dominate Mazar-i-Sharif itself. Unlike his rival, Gen Atta has powerful friends among the Tajik-dominated Northern Alliance that toppled the Taliban last year.
With this backing, Gen Atta can put more armed men on the streets of the city than his rival - the decisive factor in Afghan power-politics. Under an earlier deal, security in Mazar-i-Sharif was supposedly handed over to a 600-strong police force comprised of all factions. In fact, Gen Atta's men control all of the city's 25 police posts.
Recent events have illustrated the danger of renewed factional fighting. After a series of incidents, including the gang rape of a French aid worker, relief agencies have suspended their work in the regions of Maimana and Sar-e-Pul.
In the last fortnight, one village has been burned to the ground and another 17 looted.
Western diplomats say that Mazar-i-Sharif would be "top of the list" if UN peacekeeping troops were deployed outside Kabul. Until and unless that happens, the rivals will have to be entrusted with the security of the north.
"We can make the city peaceful by taking control over the armed men," said Gen Atta.
"I held a good meeting with Gen Dostum. We are both agreed, if any problem arises, it will be solved by discussion. Our people are tired of fighting. The war culture in Afghanistan has ended."
But Gen Atta casually blamed his rival for every recent incident. "I have one complaint about Gen Dostum. He should tell his armed forces to stop fighting," he said. Asked whether he could trust his rival, Gen Atta said: "I want to trust him but I am doubtful."
Then he travelled to Gen Dostum's home in Kod-e-Barq. When the two met again, reclining on armchairs in Gen Dostum's garden, the future peace of Afghanistan hung on their words.
• Afghanistan yesterday asked for the United Nations peacekeeping force in Kabul to investigate the murder of Vice-President Abdul Haji Qadir.
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