sowetan news: US 'in peace talks with Taliban'

Monday, June 20, 2011

US 'in peace talks with Taliban'

The Taliban's official position is that foreign troops must leave Afghanistan before it starts talks

The US is engaged in talks with the Taliban, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said, in the first high-level confirmation of US involvement.

Mr Karzai said that "foreign military and especially the US itself" were involved in peace talks with the group.

Earlier this month, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said there could be political talks with the Taliban by the end of this year.

The US is due to start withdrawing its 97,000 troops from Afghanistan in July.

It aims to gradually hand over all security operations to Afghan security forces by 2014.

Mr Karzai gave no details as to whether the discussions involved Taliban officials with US authorities, or a go-between, when he raised the subject in a Kabul press conference on Saturday.

The official Taliban position is that international forces must leave Afghanistan before it will get involved in peace talks, and then only with the Afghan government.

Analysis

It's always been assumed that the US is reaching out directly to the Taliban, but this is the first high-level official confirmation.

The exact identity of the Americans' negotiating partner is not known whether they are talking to a go-between or to somebody with authority.

Neither is it known what is on the table: The assumption is that these are talks about talks rather than something more substantive.

No one should expect quick results from whatever contacts may be taking place. The prediction from all sides - Nato, the Afghan government and the Taliban itself - is for another summer of hard fighting ahead, and probably many more summers after that.

Diplomats have previously spoken of preliminary talks being held by both sides in the continuing conflict.

On Friday, the UN split a sanctions blacklist for the Taliban and al-Qaeda, to encourage the Taliban to join reconciliation efforts.

Before now, both organisations have been handled by the same UN sanctions committee.

The UN Security Council said it was sending a signal to the Taliban that now is the time to join the political process.

The US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said in a statement that the move sent "a clear message to the Taliban that there is a future for those who separate from al-Qaeda, renounce violence and abide by the Afghan constitution".

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan before being driven from power by US-backed forces in 2001.

It had sheltered al-Qaeda and its leader Osama Bin Laden.

This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.