Saudi says Pakistan can survive Taliban

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By Nicholas Kralev

NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW:

An influential member of the Saudi royal family, who headed the country's intelligence service for 25 years, said Monday that Pakistan can survive the Taliban threat provided the military remains intact.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, former ambassador to Washington, also called for the speedy withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan, saying that they are "not welcome" there. He did not specify a deadline.

In addition, Prince Turki said the stigma of Sept. 11, in which 15 of 19 hijackers were Saudis, "will be with us forever."

The prince, who oversaw funding that helped create the Taliban two decades ago during the fight against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, downplayed concerns about Pakistan's stability despite Taliban advances close to the Pakistani capital and the fact that the country's nuclear weapons are scattered across its territory, which makes it difficult to guard them.

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"As long as the armed forces are intact, the state is not going to be at risk," Prince Turki told editors and reporters of The Washington Times.

He criticized the Pakistani government, suggesting it had not found a proper way of dealing with the Taliban, which he said was not a monolithic organization. He said the army did not want to intervene in politics but suggested that there could be a coup if the civilian government did not improve its performance.