UN asks former Algerian politician to forge the next government in Afghanistan

The White House has quietly asked the United Nations to take the lead in fashioning a post-Taliban administration for Afghanistan even as officials at UN headquarters are publicly warning that neither a traditional peacekeeping force nor the creation of a protectorate would be viable solutions for that country.

There is growing concern that America's military campaign in Afghanistan is getting far ahead of diplomatic efforts to find a way of filling the power vacuum once the Taliban have been driven out. For its part, the UN is openly conceding that finding a political solution in Kabul will be very hard.

"Afghanistan is a very difficult country," cautioned Lakhdar Brahimi, a former foreign minister of Algeria who has been appointed by Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, as his envoy to the country. Mr Brahimi thus takes on a key role in the current crisis. He will leave for the region next week for wide consultations on what kind of coalition might possibly be built to govern a post-Taliban Afghanistan.

"The US is now relying on the UN," said one Western diplomat at the UN. "They want the UN to take the lead because they realise that they are absolutely non-grata in Afghanistan."

Mr Brahimi met yesterday with Richard Haass, who will co-ordinate Afghanistan policy for Washington.

Mr Brahimi told the UN Security Council earlier this week in a closed meeting that there are "probably only bad options" when it comes to deciding what happens next. He said that the UN should not even begin to think about sending in a traditional peacekeeping force. He has also expressed scepticism about proposals from Turkey that it might send in peacekeeping troops with some kind of UN blessing.

"What we are recommending is that the United Nations should never rush into sending a peacekeeping operation," Mr Brahimi told reporters.

As for the Turkish plan, he said: "It is unclear why foreign Muslim troops would be more acceptable. [They] a very proud people and they don't like to be ordered around by foreigners. They don't like to see foreigners there, especially in military uniforms."

The possibility of a Turkish role was nonetheless raised again yesterday by Turkey's Foreign Minister, Ismail Cem. "It seems that certain regions in Afghanistan have peace," he said after holding talks in Ankara with Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw. "Then in those regions we might have a function of peacekeeping and we might concentrate our help or support on those regions and turn them into examples of what Afghanistan can do once peace is achieved and peace is kept."

Mr Brahimi, who will travel to countries neighbouring Afghanistan, is expected to pursue the possibility of building a new coalition that might revolve around the former king, Mohammad Zahir Shah, who was overthrown in 1973. One UN diplomat said that the possibility of a government revolving around Mr Shah seemed dim. "We are looking to Mr Brahimi for a miracle, but we can't see where it is going to come from."