Taliban leaders reaching out to senior Afghan officials, to begin reconciliation talks. - Polidicks

[quote]PARWAN, AFGHANISTAN—The top American commander in Afghanistan said Monday that high-level Taliban leaders had reached out to senior Afghan government officials in the context of starting reconciliation discussions that could pave the way to end the fighting in Afghanistan. For months, efforts at reconciliation have been stalled at every level, [B]and this is the first explicit public suggestion that there is extensive behind-the-scenes contact between insurgents and the Afghan government.[/B] Gen. David H. Petraeus told reporters the Taliban were making efforts to establish contact with senior members of the Afghan government. “There are very high-level Taliban leaders who have sought to reach out to the highest levels of the Afghan government and, indeed, have done that,” Petraeus said. [B] The conditions of President Hamid Karzai “are very clear, very established, and, certainly, we support them as we did in Iraq, as the U.K. did in Northern Ireland; this is how you end these kinds of insurgencies,” he said, referring to the conditions among others that the Taliban respect the country’s constitution and lay down arms. [/B] He added that any strategy had to be comprehensive and also include traditional elements of counterinsurgency strategy, such as training Afghan security force members, and also “coming to grips with the situation in which there are sanctuaries for the insurgents outside the borders of the country in which we are located, and it involves, in a sense, a war of words, of information,” he said. American support for the process is in part a recognition that, “Oh, by the way, you are not going to kill or capture your way out of an industrial-strength insurgency,” Petraeus said, underscoring the scale of Taliban activity. The talks are continuous, according to people knowledgeable about them. Petraeus’s embrace of talks comes at a difficult moment in the war and at a time when many politicians in the United States are searching for a way to bring the troops home as soon as possible. Popular support has ebbed amid a steady drumbeat of reports documenting the Taliban’s persistence despite the killing of large numbers. Although on its face a peace deal with the Taliban appears to be a necessary ingredient for the withdrawal of international troops, a rapprochement with the insurgents is also so controversial among many Afghans that the U.S. is in a delicate position in supporting it. At this point, though, it seems there is an acknowledgment that it would not be possible to win against an insurgency of this scale and that a peace deal may be the only way out. A spokesman for Karzai confirmed there had been contacts with the Taliban at every level, but he cautioned that the contacts could not be characterized as even the beginning of negotiations. “In the last few months, there have been signs and signals from different levels of Afghan Taliban,” said Waheed Omer. “There have been different levels of contact — sometimes direct and sometimes indirect,” Omer said. The outreach began shortly after the peace jirga, or assembly, in early June when Karzai announced his plans for a program of reintegration and reconciliation, but no formal negotiations or discussions have begun, he said. Omer said Taliban figures had made numerous efforts to reach out and that once the High Peace Council is appointed, which Karzai is expected to do this week, the efforts would proceed. Similar outreach earlier this year by emissaries of Karzai stalled after the capture of senior Taliban leaders by Pakistan in February. On a parallel track, but still in a formative stage, are efforts to reintegrate lower-level Taliban into Afghan society “We’re on the cusp of beginning, of supporting, the Afghan beginning of reintegration,” he said.[/quote] [url=http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/867010--taliban-reach-out-to-afghan-government]The Toronto Star[/url] can't say i buy it. but if it's true, it's a start in the right direction for all parties

I think this will be some sort of trap. I mean it has to be. What would cause something like this? It's such a sudden change.

Too good to be true. These guys are freaking terrorists, why would you trust them with the track record they have?

[QUOTE=gerbile5;25113801]I think this will be some sort of trap. I mean it has to be. What would cause something like this? It's such a sudden change.[/QUOTE] i dont see this conflict ending any other way, tbh. the taliban will always be around and the coalition will always be there to fight them, unless some sort of agreement is made. karzi mentioned ireland and the UK, as an example.

Nah, I really don't see this going smoothly, I can see the taliban using this as an opportunity to deal a nice blow to the afghani morale and to say they are here to stay and will get power back by any means necessary.

You guys are pessimistic, let's hope it'll work until they fuck something up [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/heart.png[/img]

[QUOTE=Visorak06;25113840][B]These guys are freaking terrorists[/B][/QUOTE] And people wonder why nato fails to make any peace in the South-East (derp dem teroriz r evil)

[QUOTE=Visorak06;25113840]Too good to be true. These guys are freaking terrorists, why would you trust them with the track record they have?[/QUOTE] Actually your own government regonises them as an insurgency, not terrorists.

[QUOTE=Visorak06;25113840]Too good to be true. These guys are freaking terrorists, why would you trust them with the track record they have?[/QUOTE] Hey lolsup! You wonder why everyone hates the west?

Hang on - the West is the bad guy for the condemnation of the Taliban? You don't seriously support the Taliban, do you?

[QUOTE=Dr_Funk;25115090]Hang on - the West is the bad guy for the condemnation of the Taliban? You don't seriously support the Taliban, do you?[/QUOTE] narrow-minded eggheads like you are the reason why this is still going on in the first place

[QUOTE=Dr_Funk;25115090]Hang on - the West is the bad guy for the condemnation of the Taliban? You don't seriously support the Taliban, do you?[/QUOTE] Well, I would consider them insurgents.

[QUOTE=Visorak06;25113840]Too good to be true. These guys are freaking terrorists, why would you trust them with the track record they have?[/QUOTE] They're not terrorists. You can't be a terrorist when you have an ideology, and that they do (Political Islam). It is stupid, yes, but they have a reason to fight; they're not doing this just for the hell of it.

Lets clear this up, Al Qaeda are terrorists, the Taliban are insurgents.

I say it's legit.

[QUOTE=carcarcargo;25118351]Lets clear this up, Al Qaeda are terrorists, the Taliban are insurgents.[/QUOTE] Al Qaeda are Qutbist Wahhabi Islamists. They have an even stupider ideology. Not terrorists either (politically).

[QUOTE=marlkarxv2;25118415]Al Qaeda are Qutbist Wahhabi Islamists. They have an even stupider ideology. Not terrorists either.[/QUOTE] Um don't all terrorists have ideologies? Like they try to force their ideology by terrorizing the public, thus the name terrorist?

[QUOTE=Dr_Funk;25115090]Hang on - the West is the bad guy for the condemnation of the Taliban? You don't seriously support the Taliban, do you?[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Ronald Reagan;25115090]“These gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America’s founding fathers.” — [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=carcarcargo;25118449]Um don't all terrorists have ideologies?[/QUOTE] Terrorism just refers to using fear as a way to coerce. Although they may do it, they still have reason for it.

[QUOTE=marlkarxv2;25118488]Terrorism just refers to using fear as a way to coerce. Although they may do it, they still have reason for it.[/QUOTE] So really, what Al Qaeda does? So really Al Qaeda are terrorists.

[QUOTE=carcarcargo;25118509]So really, what Al Qaeda does?[/QUOTE] The Al Qaeda calls for global Jihad, an Islamist state, and other shit. Terrorist groups don't have goals.

[QUOTE=marlkarxv2;25118536]The Al Qaeda calls for global Jihad, an Islamist state, and other shit. Terrorist groups don't have goals.[/QUOTE] Yes they do. IRA movements can be counted as terrorist groups, yet htey still have a cause, they just choose to use terrorism as their weapon of choice. In fact here is a quote from wikipedia's section on terrorism "Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal, and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians)."

[QUOTE=carcarcargo;25118564]Yes they do. IRA movements can be counted as terrorist groups, yet htey still have a cause, they just choose to use terrorism as their weapon of choice.[/QUOTE] Terrorist groups are determined by the government, and the government classifies [i]any[/i] insurgent group. Although members of a group may use terrorism, [b]the group itself cannot be a terrorist group if they have a reason for it.[/b]

[QUOTE=marlkarxv2;25118612]Terrorist groups are determined by the government, and the government classifies [I]any[/I] insurgent group. Although members of a group may use terrorism, [B]the group itself cannot be a terrorist group if they have a reason for it.[/B][/QUOTE] No, a terrorist group is simply an organization who choose to attack civilian targets to cause terror. Almost all terrorist groups have causes.

I love the FP hate bandwagons, one slightly misconstrued post and everyone starts a shitstorm. Call them what you will, they still commit violent acts to scare and harm others. I can't seriously be in the minority here thinking that the Taliban shouldn't be trusted with the horrible things they've done in the past and their policies against others.

[QUOTE=carcarcargo;25118684]No, a terrorist group is simply an organization who choose to attack civilian targets to cause terror. Almost all terrorist groups have causes.[/QUOTE] [b]They have causes because the government(s) doesn't take them seriously and brands them terrorists.[/b] Terrorist organizations lack goals.

[QUOTE=marlkarxv2;25118727][B]They have causes because the government(s) doesn't take them seriously and brands them terrorists.[/B] Terrorist organizations lack goals.[/QUOTE] What on Earth of you on about.

[QUOTE=carcarcargo;25118750]What on Earth of you on about.[/QUOTE] I'm not sure. :suicide:

[QUOTE=Jessesmith1;25117919]narrow-minded eggheads like you are the reason why this is still going on in the first place[/QUOTE] Oh yeah, they're actually just heroic freedom fighters struggling against Western imperialism. Never mind the torturing and murdering of their people, execution of aid workers,severe oppression of womens' rights. I don't know what kind of world you live in, but I know too many people who've had their lives shattered by the Taliban to think of them remotely as good guys.

[QUOTE=Dr_Funk;25119470]Oh yeah, they're actually just heroic freedom fighters struggling against Western imperialism. Never mind the torturing and murdering of their people, execution of aid workers,severe oppression of womens' rights. I don't know what kind of world you live in, but I know too many people who've had their lives shattered by the Taliban to think of them remotely as good guys.[/QUOTE] If you think everything in the media is true than I do not know what to tell you.