Taliban Talking To Karzai:Could Peace Be At Hand In Afghanistan?

Secret (well, not so secret anymore) talks are going on between the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai (pictured) and the Taliban.

While emphasizing the preliminary nature of the current discussions, the sources said that for the first time they believe that Taliban representatives are fully authorized to speak for the Quetta Shura, the Afghan Taliban organization based in Pakistan, and its leader, Mohammad Omar.

“They are very, very serious about finding a way out,” one source close to the talks said of the Taliban.

What’s really made a difference is the willingness of the Obama administration to talk with the enemy.

“What it really boils down to is the Americans both supporting and in some cases maybe even participating in talking with the enemy,” [a] European official said. “If you strip everything away, that’s the deal here. For so long, politically, it’s been a deal breaker in the United States, and with some people it still is.”

…

“There is no military solution,” he said. “We all know it. And by the way, the Taliban knows it too. . . . And there is only one format for the next months. . . . It is political dialogue, reconciliation, deal.”

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.