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U.S. plans renewed ties with Afghanistan

By Andrea Koppel
CNN Washington Bureau

BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNN) -- The United States is planning the first steps to reestablish diplomatic relations with Afghanistan now that Afghan opposition groups have agreed on a transitional post-Taliban government, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday.

Powell said the United States would establish a "presence" in the Afghan capital of Kabul and is looking at opening a liaison office in mid-December.

James Dobbins, U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, is likely to be the one to head the office, Powell said, hinting Dobbins could go to Kabul even sooner.

"The first general order is to take charge of this place and all government property in view," Powell told reporters traveling with him from Ankara, Turkey, to NATO headquarters in Brussels.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul was abandoned in 1989. It was set on fire in September during an anti-U.S. demonstration.

Powell said he expects to spend much of his time in Brussels this week meeting with NATO members to discuss the next diplomatic phase in support of the new Afghan administration.

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Powell said his talks would focus on which NATO members will help pay for the administration of the transitional government. The secretary said he expects "to have a lot of informed discussions as to how to allocate money."

Among the questions Powell said still needed to be answered regarding a new government is how it would create various instruments of government, how it would coordinate international relief efforts, and how it would make it possible for Afghan refugees to return.

Powell also said it needs to be determined whether the existing U.N. resolution on the military campaign in Afghanistan includes the authority to oversee an international security force.

Earlier Wednesday, Powell had lunch with senior Turkish authorities in Ankara to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, according a senior State Department official traveling with Powell.

The official said the Turks emphasized Turkey's military is ready and willing to participate in an international security force in Afghanistan.

A number of other countries have signaled their willingness to contribute troops to a security force, including Indonesia, Germany, Jordan and Bangladesh.

Powell said several details needed to be worked out regarding a security force, including its size and leadership, its responsibilities, how long it would stay in Afghanistan and whether it would be replaced by an all Afghan force.

After his meetings at NATO headquarters on Thursday and Friday, Powell will travel to Russia and the former Soviet republics of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan for talks on the war on terrorism and the rebuilding of Afghanistan.