No deal with al Qaeda, says US

Close on the heels of the Barack Obama administration approving reconciliation efforts with the moderate elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the United States has categorically ruled out any similar settlement with the al Qaeda.

"We have no interest in any kind of reconciliation or any rapprochement by anyone with al Qaeda," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN in an interview.

She asserted that the US has never talked about reconciliation with al Qaeda. "Only the Taliban, we never said al Qaeda," she said. Clinton said the Afghan government is suggesting that a lot of the members of the Taliban are not hardcore convicted extremists.

"They are young men who have no education, no employment prospects, nothing to do. They get paid. The Taliban actually pays a higher rate to a young man who joins them than a young man who joins the police force," Clinton said. The Secretary of State said leaders of the Taliban have a mutually dependant relationship with the al Qaeda.

"They are allies, they depend upon one another. Al Qaeda provides planning, logistical, financial support. The Taliban provides a safe haven. It's a totally interconnected relationship," she said.