The Taliban on Friday condemned Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, saying rather than bring peace to Afghanistan he had boosted troop numbers and continued the aggressive policies of his predecessor.
"We have seen no change in his strategy for peace. He has done nothing for peace in Afghanistan," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.
"We condemn the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for Obama," he said by telephone from an undisclosed location.
"When Obama was elected president, we were hopeful he would keep his promise to bring change. But he brought no change, he has continued the same old strategy as President George W Bush.
"He reinforces the war in Afghanistan, he sent more troops to Afghanistan and is considering sending yet more. He has shed Afghan blood and he continues to bleed Afghans and to boost the war here," he said.
Obama won the award less than a year after he took office with the jury hailing his "extraordinary" diplomatic efforts.
Obama, 48, took office in January and has since sought to restore US standing in the world after widespread criticism over the war in Iraq and the superpower's attitude to efforts to control global warming.
{{/usCountry}}Obama, 48, took office in January and has since sought to restore US standing in the world after widespread criticism over the war in Iraq and the superpower's attitude to efforts to control global warming.
{{/usCountry}}He is currently considering a request from his military commanders to send another 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, where a Taliban insurgency is gaining strength, and the death toll of foreign soldiers has surged.