Peace Envoys From Taliban at Loose Ends in Qatar (Party!)
New York Times ^ | April 9, 2013 | ROD NORDLAND
DOHA, Qatar — When a handful of Taliban emissaries flew into Qatar on an American plane in 2010, the Obama administration hoped they would help negotiate a peace deal that could stabilize Afghanistan and allow the United States a graceful exit.
Three years after that secret arrival, the Taliban officials remain idle and their political office here remains unused.
“They are just living here enjoying the air-conditioning, driving luxury cars, eating and making babies,” one Afghan diplomat in Qatar said. “It’s all they can do; they have no work to do.”
They are unlikely to see a negotiating table anytime soon either, with the new fighting season in Afghanistan off to a particularly violent start and with the latest push to restart talks all but abandoned. Once again, the Taliban’s attention is on the battlefield, and on what may be gained or lost there as the American military begins its withdrawal from the war.
The good news here is that the Tallibunnies don’t seem to have the nerve to congregate in Afgannyland——could be they’ve acquired an aversion to getting droned and figger they’re safer in Qatar. And that might be a faktor in a longer term deal. If dronefear helps keep them from getting frisky. And remember this always was Obamuzzie’s favorite war going back to ‘08 and before-—assuming you can believe anything he’s ever said.