Jeffry Wrenn

The men tossed a tissue with some of the allegations scribbled on it to reporters as they headed to their latest hearing in court, where a judge delayed formally charging the suspects for at least two more weeks. "Since our arrest, the U.S. FBI and Pakistani police have tortured us," read the message. "They are trying to set us up. We are innocent. They are trying to keep us away from public, media and families and lawyers. Help us." Defense lawyer Tariq Asad said one suspect told the judge that the police gave them electric shocks and warned them not to mention the alleged torture to the media or court. The suspect, Ramy Zamzam, said police threatened to destroy their passports and their lives. U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire denied the allegations of torture by the FBI, whose agents have had some access to the men. Pakistani police have denied past allegations by the men that they were tortured while in custody. The five men, all young Muslims from the Washington area, were detained in December in Punjab province's town of Sargodha, 120 miles south of Islamabad, not long after they arrived in Pakistan. Police have publicly accused them of plotting terrorist attacks in Pakistan and seeking to join Islamist militants fighting U.S. troops across the border in Afghanistan after contacting Pakistani militants on the Internet. Lawyers for the men say they wanted to travel to Afghanistan and had no plans for attacks in Pakistan. The U.S. has pressed an often-reluctant Pakistan to crack down on militants on its territory, many of whom are believed involved in attacks on American and NATO forces. At the same time, several recent cases have highlighted the growing danger of Americans signing up to join the insurgents on both sides of the border. Pakistan's judicial process can be opaque, especially in terrorism cases, and allegations of mistreatment by police are common. Prosecutor Nadeem Akram said the police are seeking permission from the federal Interior Ministry to press specific charges against the men, such as "trying to declare war against a country that is not at war with Pakistan" - an apparent reference to Afghanistan. The court in Sargodha also ordered a panel of three or five doctors to carry out a detailed medical examination of the men after they said they were not satisfied with an earlier exam, Akram said. That exam was ordered during the last hearing after the men alleged torture by Pakistani police. "They told the court that the prison doctor just checked their blood pressure and did some other preliminary examination," Akram said. Khalid Khwaja, a rights activist who often advocates for detained militant suspects, gave reporters a copy of a letter he said Zamzam had written to his parents. In it, Zamzam repeats the torture allegation and urges his parents to keep praying and trying to contact the suspects. Zamzam is a 22-year-old who was a dental student at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Snelsire could not immediately confirm Khwaja's assertion that the message had been given to the U.S. Embassy to pass on to the parents. In their last hearing in mid-January, police submitted a charge sheet and evidence to the court in which the men are accused of violating several sections of Pakistan's penal code and anti-terrorism law. The most serious charge is conspiracy to carry out a terrorist act, which could carry life imprisonment depending on what the act is. Prosecutors are still mulling whether the case is strong enough to charge the men and bring them to trial. The five were reported missing by their families in November after one left behind a farewell video showing scenes of war and casualties and saying Muslims must be defended. Aside from Zamzam, who is of Egyptian descent, two of the suspects are of Pakistani heritage, while the other two have an Ethiopian background. The men's next hearing for the main case is set for Feb. 16, though a bail hearing may be held Feb. 8.

The move by the United Nations last week to remove five former Taliban members from its official sanctions list reflects a growing belief by U.S. and international officials that some less-active leaders of the Afghan Taliban are no longer tightly linked to the al Qaeda network they sheltered before the terror attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. The decision anchors an Obama administration policy shift that would transform the Afghanistan war from a broad international conflict into an internal political struggle largely handled by the Afghans themselves. Key to that change would be an effort to negotiate with and buy out midlevel Taliban figures willing to renounce violence and abandon their fight. But in paring back some of the Taliban's connections to al Qaeda, the move risks running up against the American public's ingrained perception that the Afghan faction remains a national enemy and that there is no ideological daylight between the two groups. A few other Taliban figures have been dropped from the target list in recent years, but the latest round signals a more comprehensive approach. Any large-scale tinkering with the U.N. target list would have a tangible impact on American counterterror moves: The U.S. typically has a strong behind-the-scenes role in the U.N.'s decision and the U.N. list is often used by the U.S. to identify its own targets for diplomatic and economic punishments. U.S. officials are quick to say that the decoupling is limited and proceeding carefully. Some Taliban leaders, they say, may never come off the list - such as Mullah Mohammed Omar or the leaders of the Haqqani network, which directs the fight against U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan from the Waziristan tribal region in Pakistan. Worldwatch: A Conference Won't Fix Afghanistan Even Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has endorsed the reconciliation plan as essential to success in the Afghanistan war, warns of the complexities involved in separating the two militant groups. Gates ticked off "a syndicate of terrorist groups" on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border, including al Qaeda, Afghan and Pakistan Taliban and a number of Pakistani groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba. "So you can't say one's good and one's not good," he said recently. "They're all insidious, and safe havens for all of them need to be eliminated." The U.N. Security Council first imposed sanctions against the Taliban in November 1999 for refusing to send Osama bin Laden to stand trial on terrorism charges in connection with two 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa. Those sanctions - a travel ban, arms embargo and assets freeze - were later extended to al Qaeda, and in January 2001, the U.N. assembled its first target list of 10 al Qaeda leaders and 74 top Taliban officials. The list has grown to 268 al Qaeda and 137 Taliban figures - and is largely replicated in a similar list used by the State and Treasury Departments to pinpoint terror targets. The U.N. decision - approved by all 15 members of the Security Council - came last week after Russia dropped an objection. The driving concern of those opposing the move focuses on what would happen if the Taliban are allowed to regain any power in Afghanistan. Opponents fear that al Qaeda, including its leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, who are believed hiding along the Pakistan border, would be welcomed back. Richard Barrett, the head of a U.N. group that monitors the threat posed by al Qaeda and the Taliban and among those who back the decision to start removing Taliban leaders from the list, said that "in areas that have been under Taliban control for some time - there aren't al Qaeda there." Other terrorism analysts are more cautious, クイーンカジノ warning that it will be difficult to determine who is no longer a threat, and that removing names may undercut the credibility of the list. "The lines are blurred between the tribal affiliations of the Taliban on both sides of the border and al Qaeda," said Juan Zarate, a top counterterrorism official in the Bush administration who is now senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It becomes a very difficult chess game and you need astute Afghans to help guide this. You don't want to make a deal with the wrong set of actors, you don't want to make a deal with the devil," he said. U.S. officials see a similar move as a key turning point in the Iraq conflict, says a senior Obama administration official who requested anonymity to discuss the rationale behind the strategy. U.S. forces teamed up with former Sunni insurgents to fight against al Qaeda and began an effort to absorb them into national security and other civilian jobs. Removing the names of former Taliban leaders from the sanctions list would provide them with significant benefits. The sanctions bar their travel to other countries and freezes their financial assets, making it impossible for them to conduct business overseas. Lifting financial sanctions on Taliban leaders "may well serve as a conduit for acquisition of funds, economic resources and weapons for the Taliban," warned retired U.S. diplomat Victor Comras, who was one of five international monitors who oversaw the implementation of U.S. Security Council terrorism financing measures in 2002. Several of the Taliban members dropped from the list last week were senior leaders. Among them were Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, a former foreign minister and Mullah Omar confidant who has recently been involved in helping negotiations, and Abdul Hakim Monib, a former deputy minister of frontier affairs who later renounced the Taliban and became a provincial governor.

The men tossed a tissue with some of the allegations scribbled on it to reporters as they headed to their latest hearing in court, where a judge delayed formally charging the suspects for at least two more weeks. "Since our arrest, the U.S. FBI and Pakistani police have tortured us," read the message. "They are trying to set us up. We are innocent. They are trying to keep us away from public, media and families and lawyers. Help us." Defense lawyer Tariq Asad said one suspect told the judge that the police gave them electric shocks and warned them not to mention the alleged torture to the media or court. The suspect, Ramy Zamzam, said police threatened to destroy their passports and their lives. U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire denied the allegations of torture by the FBI, whose agents have had some access to the men. Pakistani police have denied past allegations by the men that they were tortured while in custody. The five men, all young Muslims from the Washington area, were detained in December in Punjab province's town of Sargodha, 120 miles south of Islamabad, not long after they arrived in Pakistan. Police have publicly accused them of plotting terrorist attacks in Pakistan and seeking to join Islamist militants fighting U.S. troops across the border in Afghanistan after contacting Pakistani militants on the Internet. Lawyers for the men say they wanted to travel to Afghanistan and had no plans for attacks in Pakistan. The U.S. has pressed an often-reluctant Pakistan to crack down on militants on its territory, many of whom are believed involved in attacks on American and NATO forces. At the same time, several recent cases have highlighted the growing danger of Americans signing up to join the insurgents on both sides of the border. Pakistan's judicial process can be opaque, especially in terrorism cases, and カジノ allegations of mistreatment by police are common. Prosecutor Nadeem Akram said the police are seeking permission from the federal Interior Ministry to press specific charges against the men, such as "trying to declare war against a country that is not at war with Pakistan" - an apparent reference to Afghanistan. The court in Sargodha also ordered a panel of three or five doctors to carry out a detailed medical examination of the men after they said they were not satisfied with an earlier exam, Akram said. That exam was ordered during the last hearing after the men alleged torture by Pakistani police. "They told the court that the prison doctor just checked their blood pressure and did some other preliminary examination," Akram said. Khalid Khwaja, a rights activist who often advocates for detained militant suspects, gave reporters a copy of a letter he said Zamzam had written to his parents. In it, Zamzam repeats the torture allegation and urges his parents to keep praying and trying to contact the suspects. Zamzam is a 22-year-old who was a dental student at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Snelsire could not immediately confirm Khwaja's assertion that the message had been given to the U.S. Embassy to pass on to the parents. In their last hearing in mid-January, police submitted a charge sheet and evidence to the court in which the men are accused of violating several sections of Pakistan's penal code and anti-terrorism law. The most serious charge is conspiracy to carry out a terrorist act, which could carry life imprisonment depending on what the act is. Prosecutors are still mulling whether the case is strong enough to charge the men and bring them to trial. The five were reported missing by their families in November after one left behind a farewell video showing scenes of war and casualties and saying Muslims must be defended. Aside from Zamzam, who is of Egyptian descent, two of the suspects are of Pakistani heritage, while the other two have an Ethiopian background. The men's next hearing for the main case is set for Feb. 16, though a bail hearing may be held Feb. 8.

The men tossed a tissue with some of the allegations scribbled on it to reporters as they headed to their latest hearing in court, where a judge delayed formally charging the suspects for at least two more weeks. "Since our arrest, the U.S. FBI and Pakistani police have tortured us," read the message. "They are trying to set us up. We are innocent. They are trying to keep us away from public, media and families and lawyers. Help us." Defense lawyer Tariq Asad said one suspect told the judge that the police gave them electric shocks and warned them not to mention the alleged torture to the media or court. The suspect, Ramy Zamzam, said police threatened to destroy their passports and their lives. U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire denied the allegations of torture by the FBI, whose agents have had some access to the men. Pakistani police have denied past allegations by the men that they were tortured while in custody. The five men, all young Muslims from the Washington area, were detained in December in Punjab province's town of Sargodha, 120 miles south of Islamabad, not long after they arrived in Pakistan. Police have publicly accused them of plotting terrorist attacks in Pakistan and seeking to join Islamist militants fighting U.S. troops across the border in Afghanistan after contacting Pakistani militants on the Internet. Lawyers for the men say they wanted to travel to Afghanistan and had no plans for attacks in Pakistan. The U.S. has pressed an often-reluctant Pakistan to crack down on militants on its territory, many of whom are believed involved in attacks on American and NATO forces. At the same time, several recent cases have highlighted the growing danger of Americans signing up to join the insurgents on both sides of the border. Pakistan's judicial process can be opaque, especially in terrorism cases, and カジノ allegations of mistreatment by police are common. Prosecutor Nadeem Akram said the police are seeking permission from the federal Interior Ministry to press specific charges against the men, such as "trying to declare war against a country that is not at war with Pakistan" - an apparent reference to Afghanistan. The court in Sargodha also ordered a panel of three or five doctors to carry out a detailed medical examination of the men after they said they were not satisfied with an earlier exam, Akram said. That exam was ordered during the last hearing after the men alleged torture by Pakistani police. "They told the court that the prison doctor just checked their blood pressure and did some other preliminary examination," Akram said. Khalid Khwaja, a rights activist who often advocates for detained militant suspects, gave reporters a copy of a letter he said Zamzam had written to his parents. In it, Zamzam repeats the torture allegation and urges his parents to keep praying and trying to contact the suspects. Zamzam is a 22-year-old who was a dental student at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Snelsire could not immediately confirm Khwaja's assertion that the message had been given to the U.S. Embassy to pass on to the parents. In their last hearing in mid-January, police submitted a charge sheet and evidence to the court in which the men are accused of violating several sections of Pakistan's penal code and anti-terrorism law. The most serious charge is conspiracy to carry out a terrorist act, which could carry life imprisonment depending on what the act is. Prosecutors are still mulling whether the case is strong enough to charge the men and bring them to trial. The five were reported missing by their families in November after one left behind a farewell video showing scenes of war and casualties and saying Muslims must be defended. Aside from Zamzam, who is of Egyptian descent, two of the suspects are of Pakistani heritage, while the other two have an Ethiopian background. The men's next hearing for the main case is set for Feb. 16, though a bail hearing may be held Feb. 8.

Lohan, accompanied by her attorney, surrendered herself at the Beverly Hills Police Department shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday to be fingerprinted and photographed, said Officer Brian Ballieweg. She was booked on suspicion of a DUI with a blood alcohol level above .08, California's legal limit, and on suspicion of misdemeanor hit and run, Ballieweg said. A message left early Friday with her publicist was not immediately returned. The booking was reported by TV's "The Insider."'Lohan and two other adults were in her 2005 Mercedes SL-65 convertible when she lost control and crashed into a curb and shrubbery on westbound Sunset Boulevard at about 5:30 a.m. on May 26, police said. After the crash, Lohan got into a second car and was driven to a hospital in nearby Century City for treatment of minor injuries, police said. The two other people in her car were not hurt. Officers received a 911 call about the accident and traced her to a local hospital. Police said at the time she had been arrested for バカラ investigation of driving under the influence, though she wasn't formally booked on the allegation until Thursday. Lohan's booking comes a few days after she finished a second rehab stint that lasted over six weeks. She began rehab after a wild Memorial Day weekend that included the crash. She said in January she had checked into a rehabilitation center for substance abuse treatment.

Benedict blasted proposed laws before the British Parliament that are intended to prevent employers from denying jobs to applicants on the grounds of gender, sexuality, age or race. Current legislation exempts religious organizations, but the planned new law would effectively apply to lay people employed by churches. Benedict told the bishops that they needed to take a firm, public stand against the proposed legislation, which he said violated natural law. "Your country is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society," he told them. "The effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs." The Vatican says unjust forms of discrimination must be avoided. But it has, for example, opposed a U.N. initiative against gender discrimination on the grounds that it could pressure countries to recognize same-sex marriages. The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual activity is sinful. Meanwhile, Benedict confirmed Monday he would visit Britain later this year, a trip that has grown fraught following his move to welcome into the Roman Catholic Church groups of Anglicans upset over the ordination of gays and women. No dates were announced. Officials at both the Vatican and in Britain say the visit is planned for September. It marks the first papal visit to Britain since Pope John Paul II visited in 1982. Benedict confirmed his plans in a speech to visiting British bishops, saying he hoped the trip would "strengthen and confirm" the faith of Catholics across the country. He urged the bishops to help disaffected Anglicans who want to convert to Catholicism. "I am convinced that, if given a warm and openhearted welcome, such groups will be a blessing for the entire Church," he said. The Vatican announced last October it was making it easier for Anglicans to become Catholic, essentially creating independent dioceses for converts who could still maintain certain Anglican traditions, including having married priests. The unprecedented invitation shocked Anglicans and Catholics alike - particularly in Britain, クイーンカジノ seat of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Neither Williams nor Britain's Catholic bishops were consulted by the Vatican, and they were only advised of the new rules shortly before they became public. Williams pointedly raised his concerns about the way in which the announcement was made when he met with the pope last November. "Clearly many Anglicans, myself included, felt that it put us in an awkward position," Williams told Vatican Radio at the time. The Vatican has said it was merely responding to the many Anglican requests to join the Catholic Church and has denied it was poaching for converts. But the move strained Catholic-Anglican relations and is sure to affect Williams' 77-million Anglican Communion, which was already on the verge of schism over homosexuality and women's ordination issues before the Vatican intervened. Anglicans split from Rome in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. For decades, the two churches have held discussions on trying to reunite, part of the Vatican's long-term effort to unify all Christians. But differences remain, and the ecumenical talks were going nowhere as divisions mounted between liberals and traditionalists within the Anglican Communion.

Benedict blasted proposed laws before the British Parliament that are intended to prevent employers from denying jobs to applicants on the grounds of gender, sexuality, age or race. Current legislation exempts religious organizations, but the planned new law would effectively apply to lay people employed by churches. Benedict told the bishops that they needed to take a firm, public stand against the proposed legislation, which he said violated natural law. "Your country is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society," he told them. "The effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs." The Vatican says unjust forms of discrimination must be avoided. But it has, for example, opposed a U.N. initiative against gender discrimination on the grounds that it could pressure countries to recognize same-sex marriages. The Catholic Church teaches that homosexual activity is sinful. Meanwhile, Benedict confirmed Monday he would visit Britain later this year, a trip that has grown fraught following his move to welcome into the Roman Catholic Church groups of Anglicans upset over the ordination of gays and women. No dates were announced. Officials at both the Vatican and in Britain say the visit is planned for September. It marks the first papal visit to Britain since Pope John Paul II visited in 1982. Benedict confirmed his plans in a speech to visiting British bishops, saying he hoped the trip would "strengthen and confirm" the faith of Catholics across the country. He urged the bishops to help disaffected Anglicans who want to convert to Catholicism. "I am convinced that, if given a warm and openhearted welcome, such groups will be a blessing for the entire Church," he said. The Vatican announced last October it was making it easier for Anglicans to become Catholic, essentially creating independent dioceses for converts who could still maintain certain Anglican traditions, including having married priests. The unprecedented invitation shocked Anglicans and Catholics alike - particularly in Britain, seat of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Neither Williams nor Britain's Catholic bishops were consulted by the Vatican, and they were only advised of the new rules shortly before they became public. Williams pointedly raised his concerns about the way in which the announcement was made when he met with the pope last November. "Clearly many Anglicans, myself included, felt that it put us in an awkward position," Williams told Vatican Radio at the time. The Vatican has said it was merely responding to the many Anglican requests to join the Catholic Church and has denied it was poaching for converts. But the move strained Catholic-Anglican relations and is sure to affect Williams' 77-million Anglican Communion, which was already on the verge of schism over homosexuality and women's ordination issues before the Vatican intervened. Anglicans split from Rome in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. For decades, the two churches have held discussions on trying to reunite, part of the Vatican's long-term effort to unify all Christians. But differences remain, and the ecumenical talks were going nowhere as divisions mounted between liberals and traditionalists within the Anglican Communion.

The move by the United Nations last week to remove five former Taliban members from its official sanctions list reflects a growing belief by U.S. and international officials that some less-active leaders of the Afghan Taliban are no longer tightly linked to the al Qaeda network they sheltered before the terror attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. The decision anchors an Obama administration policy shift that would transform the Afghanistan war from a broad international conflict into an internal political struggle largely handled by the Afghans themselves. Key to that change would be an effort to negotiate with and buy out midlevel Taliban figures willing to renounce violence and abandon their fight. But in paring back some of the Taliban's connections to al Qaeda, the move risks running up against the American public's ingrained perception that the Afghan faction remains a national enemy and that there is no ideological daylight between the two groups. A few other Taliban figures have been dropped from the target list in recent years, but the latest round signals a more comprehensive approach. Any large-scale tinkering with the U.N. target list would have a tangible impact on American counterterror moves: The U.S. typically has a strong behind-the-scenes role in the U.N.'s decision and the U.N. list is often used by the U.S. to identify its own targets for diplomatic and economic punishments. U.S. officials are quick to say that the decoupling is limited and proceeding carefully. Some Taliban leaders, they say, may never come off the list - such as Mullah Mohammed Omar or the leaders of the Haqqani network, which directs the fight against U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan from the Waziristan tribal region in Pakistan. Worldwatch: A Conference Won't Fix Afghanistan Even Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has endorsed the reconciliation plan as essential to success in the Afghanistan war, warns of the complexities involved in separating the two militant groups. Gates ticked off "a syndicate of terrorist groups" on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border, including al Qaeda, Afghan and Pakistan Taliban and a number of Pakistani groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba. "So you can't say one's good and one's not good," he said recently. "They're all insidious, and safe havens for all of them need to be eliminated." The U.N. Security Council first imposed sanctions against the Taliban in November 1999 for refusing to send Osama bin Laden to stand trial on terrorism charges in connection with two 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa. Those sanctions - a travel ban, arms embargo and assets freeze - were later extended to al Qaeda, and in January 2001, the U.N. assembled its first target list of 10 al Qaeda leaders and 74 top Taliban officials. The list has grown to 268 al Qaeda and 137 Taliban figures - and is largely replicated in a similar list used by the State and Treasury Departments to pinpoint terror targets. The U.N. decision - approved by all 15 members of the Security Council - came last week after Russia dropped an objection. The driving concern of those opposing the move focuses on what would happen if the Taliban are allowed to regain any power in Afghanistan. Opponents fear that al Qaeda, including its leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, who are believed hiding along the Pakistan border, would be welcomed back. Richard Barrett, the head of a U.N. group that monitors the threat posed by al Qaeda and the Taliban and among those who back the decision to start removing Taliban leaders from the list, ‎クイーンカジノ said that "in areas that have been under Taliban control for some time - there aren't al Qaeda there." Other terrorism analysts are more cautious, warning that it will be difficult to determine who is no longer a threat, and that removing names may undercut the credibility of the list. "The lines are blurred between the tribal affiliations of the Taliban on both sides of the border and al Qaeda," said Juan Zarate, a top counterterrorism official in the Bush administration who is now senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It becomes a very difficult chess game and you need astute Afghans to help guide this. You don't want to make a deal with the wrong set of actors, you don't want to make a deal with the devil," he said. U.S. officials see a similar move as a key turning point in the Iraq conflict, says a senior Obama administration official who requested anonymity to discuss the rationale behind the strategy. U.S. forces teamed up with former Sunni insurgents to fight against al Qaeda and began an effort to absorb them into national security and other civilian jobs. Removing the names of former Taliban leaders from the sanctions list would provide them with significant benefits. The sanctions bar their travel to other countries and freezes their financial assets, making it impossible for them to conduct business overseas. Lifting financial sanctions on Taliban leaders "may well serve as a conduit for acquisition of funds, economic resources and weapons for the Taliban," warned retired U.S. diplomat Victor Comras, who was one of five international monitors who oversaw the implementation of U.S. Security Council terrorism financing measures in 2002. Several of the Taliban members dropped from the list last week were senior leaders. Among them were Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, a former foreign minister and Mullah Omar confidant who has recently been involved in helping negotiations, and Abdul Hakim Monib, a former deputy minister of frontier affairs who later renounced the Taliban and became a provincial governor.

The move by the United Nations last week to remove five former Taliban members from its official sanctions list reflects a growing belief by U.S. and international officials that some less-active leaders of the Afghan Taliban are no longer tightly linked to the al Qaeda network they sheltered before the terror attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. The decision anchors an Obama administration policy shift that would transform the Afghanistan war from a broad international conflict into an internal political struggle largely handled by the Afghans themselves. Key to that change would be an effort to negotiate with and buy out midlevel Taliban figures willing to renounce violence and abandon their fight. But in paring back some of the Taliban's connections to al Qaeda, the move risks running up against the American public's ingrained perception that the Afghan faction remains a national enemy and that there is no ideological daylight between the two groups. A few other Taliban figures have been dropped from the target list in recent years, but the latest round signals a more comprehensive approach. Any large-scale tinkering with the U.N. target list would have a tangible impact on American counterterror moves: The U.S. typically has a strong behind-the-scenes role in the U.N.'s decision and the U.N. list is often used by the U.S. to identify its own targets for diplomatic and economic punishments. U.S. officials are quick to say that the decoupling is limited and proceeding carefully. Some Taliban leaders, they say, may never come off the list - such as Mullah Mohammed Omar or the leaders of the Haqqani network, which directs the fight against U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan from the Waziristan tribal region in Pakistan. Worldwatch: A Conference Won't Fix Afghanistan Even Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has endorsed the reconciliation plan as essential to success in the Afghanistan war, warns of the complexities involved in separating the two militant groups. Gates ticked off "a syndicate of terrorist groups" on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border, including al Qaeda, Afghan and Pakistan Taliban and a number of Pakistani groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba. "So you can't say one's good and one's not good," he said recently. "They're all insidious, and safe havens for all of them need to be eliminated." The U.N. Security Council first imposed sanctions against the Taliban in November 1999 for refusing to send Osama bin Laden to stand trial on terrorism charges in connection with two 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa. Those sanctions - a travel ban, arms embargo and assets freeze - were later extended to al Qaeda, and in January 2001, the U.N. assembled its first target list of 10 al Qaeda leaders and 74 top Taliban officials. The list has grown to 268 al Qaeda and 137 Taliban figures - and is largely replicated in a similar list used by the State and Treasury Departments to pinpoint terror targets. The U.N. decision - approved by all 15 members of the Security Council - came last week after Russia dropped an objection. The driving concern of those opposing the move focuses on what would happen if the Taliban are allowed to regain any power in Afghanistan. Opponents fear that al Qaeda, including its leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, who are believed hiding along the Pakistan border, would be welcomed back. Richard Barrett, the head of a U.N. group that monitors the threat posed by al Qaeda and the Taliban and among those who back the decision to start removing Taliban leaders from the list, said that "in areas that have been under Taliban control for some time - there aren't al Qaeda there." Other terrorism analysts are more cautious, warning that it will be difficult to determine who is no longer a threat, and that removing names may undercut the credibility of the list. "The lines are blurred between the tribal affiliations of the Taliban on both sides of the border and al Qaeda," said Juan Zarate, a top counterterrorism official in the Bush administration who is now senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It becomes a very difficult chess game and you need astute Afghans to help guide this. You don't want to make a deal with the wrong set of actors, you don't want to make a deal with the devil," he said. U.S. officials see a similar move as a key turning point in the Iraq conflict, says a senior Obama administration official who requested anonymity to discuss the rationale behind the strategy. U.S. forces teamed up with former Sunni insurgents to fight against al Qaeda and began an effort to absorb them into national security and other civilian jobs. Removing the names of former Taliban leaders from the sanctions list would provide them with significant benefits. The sanctions bar their travel to other countries and freezes their financial assets, making it impossible for them to conduct business overseas. Lifting financial sanctions on Taliban leaders "may well serve as a conduit for acquisition of funds, economic resources and weapons for the Taliban," warned retired U.S. diplomat Victor Comras, who was one of five international monitors who oversaw the implementation of U.S. Security Council terrorism financing measures in 2002. Several of the Taliban members dropped from the list last week were senior leaders. Among them were Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, a former foreign minister and Mullah Omar confidant who has recently been involved in helping negotiations, and Abdul Hakim Monib, a former deputy minister of frontier affairs who later renounced the Taliban and became a provincial governor.