Posted on 06/18/2013 3:23:44 PM PDT by ketelone
WASHINGTON:
The United States will begin formal talks with the Taliban, including the Haqqani network, in Doha, Qatar, in a couple of days, Obama administration officials said in a major announcement on Tuesday. The engagement, the first of its kind since the post 9/11 conflict, follows key concessions made by Washington, including dropping the pre-condition that Taliban immediately break ties with al-Qaida, in return for much broader, generic, self-serving commitments by the unyielding terrorist group.
In a conference call from Northern Ireland where President Obama is attending the G8 summit, US officials said they expected Taliban to issue a statement opposing the use of Afghan soil to threaten other countries (which implicitly meant not sheltering al-Qaida); and second, that they support an Afghan peace process.
As it turned out, the statement released by the Taliban was stunning in its implied rejection of even the minimum US demands and assertive in its own assumption of Afghan leadership and how it would achieve its objectives: "It is well known to all that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been waging jihad to put an end to the occupation and form an independent Islamic system," it said, interposing itself in the Afghan leadership position and projecting the US,and not al-Qaida, as the problem.
It also said "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considerers it its religious and national duty to gain independence from the occupation and for that purpose has utilised every legitimate way and will utilise it in future too," while making no commitment or reference to the Afghan constitution, the current US-backed leadership in Kabul, or the rights of women and minorities.
Earlier US officials had already reeled back on their expectation. "We've long had a demand on the Taliban that they make a statement that distances themselves from the movement from international terrorism, but made clear that we didn't expect immediately for them to break ties with al-Qaida, because that's an outcome of the negotiation process," they said, explaining the concessions made to the nihilistic outfit, which, surprisingly, includes elements Washington has repeatedly described as, and officially designated as, a terrorist group - the Haqqani network.
US officials had also maintained that they had got enough and the "statement that we expect today is this first step in distancing them, distancing the movement from international terrorism" although they conceded "it's not as far as will demand them to go at the end of the process."
The negotiating group, which calls itself Taliban Political Commission, are the "fully authorized representatives of the movement, and authorized by Mullah Omar himself" administration officials said against the backdrop of Washington having been previously fooled by elements claiming to represent Taliban. "We don't know the exact makeup of the Taliban delegation, but we believe that it broadly represents, as authorized by Mullah Omar, the entire movement to include the Haqqanis," they added.
The officials were cautious about the outcome of what they said was a first step in what could be a complex, long, and messy dialogue. "I think we need to be realistic. This is a new development, a potentially significant development. But peace is not at hand," one official said.
In fact, officials said the first meeting is likely to be just an exchange of agendas rather than any substantive, detailed discussion. "We'll tell them what we want to talk about; they'll tell us what they want to talk about; and we'll both then adjourn and consult on next steps, and then have another meeting in a week or two later," they said. Among the things the US will want to talk about from the beginning is how Taliban going to cut ties with al-Qaida — the group that attacked US on 9/11 and was sheltered by the Taliban — "how quickly, exactly how they're going to do it, what it means."
Washington's dramatic outreach with the Pakistan-backed Taliban came even as US - and Nato-led international coalition handed over the lead on security to Afghan National Forces at a formal ceremony in Kabul, marking a milestone in the protracted conflict in the land-locked country. It also came on the eve of secretary of state John Kerry's visit next week to India (and Pakistan), where the latest developments will be part of the talks' agenda. Officials said Pakistan was supportive of the dialogue and had played a key role in bringing Taliban to the table.
They however implicitly maintained that despite the diminishing American military footprint, engaging Taliban did not mean Washington would abandon its core interests. It would continue to protect its equities Afghanistan.
A representative democracy/constitutional republic is a very advanced intellectual concept. It is a concept that is quite often beyond grasping for folks mired in the 7th century and who are more accustomed to tribal rule.
Just as you cannot run before learning to first crawl and then walk, you cannot just export our Constitutional form of government to places like Afghanistan. We really should start at something that will better their lives and that they can understand and put in place. My first idea would be the Magna Carta, but I’m sure others on this forum will have better ideas.
There’s a reason it’s called the “Graveyard of Empires”.
BOHICA.
Last conscession every poppy field designated by satellite be obliteraited. I love the Smell of Napalm in the morning!
Send in a little shock and awe to say goodbye! Maybe a couple of B2s to deliver a final carpet bombimg!
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2010
Dr. Abdullah stated:
I should say that Taliban are not fighting to be accommodated. They are fighting to bring the state down. So it’s a futile exercise, and it’s just misleading. ... There are groups that will fight to the death. Whether we like to talk to them or we don’t like to talk to them, they will continue to fight. So, for them, I don’t think that we have a way forward with talks or negotiations or contacts or anything as such. Then we have to be prepared to tackle and deal with them militarily. In terms of the Taliban on the ground, there are lots of possibilities and opportunities that with the help of the people in different parts of the country, we can attract them to the peace process; provided, we create a favorable environment on this side of the line. At the moment, the people are leaving support for the government because of corruption. So that expectation is also not realistic at this stage.
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What makes 0 think this has changed?
Another defeat... Our embassy personnel will be repeating the evacuation of the compound in Saigon in ‘75.
A tactical nuke on Tora Bora in 2001 would have ended this muzzie nonsense for a hundred years.
As we leave, let’s nuke every square inch of that wretched place.
Obama needs to cut and run from Afghanistan so he can build up for Syria.
“What makes 0 think this has changed?”
His reelection. He knows the facts haven’t changed on the ground, but as they apply to HIM... they have.
It did. Bin Ladin rests in a cave in Tora Bora. Seal Team 6 was sacrificed.
Sad.
The reason it's called that is because some writer came up with the phrase, and left wing journalists decided to use it as a metaphor for the futility of Westerners fighting a war there. Afghanistan has been overrun again and again, Greeks, Mongols, Arabs, Persians, Turks, etc slaughtered the inhabitants like sheep. The problem is that most of it is either desert or mountain terrain, i.e. wasteland, so none of the empires bothered to stick around, which is why it's not a province of any of the neighboring countries. The inhabitants of Afghanistan are a mish mash of the people who conquered it - most of the original people from eons ago are probably lying in mass graves.
In reality, Pakistan doesn't seem to think it's futile to try to rule Afghanistan. If we hadn't funneled billions of dollars worth of equipment to the mujahideen, the Soviets would have crushed them.
“Obama announces “Peace” talks with Taliban Savages”
I wonder how many more years this victory takes(and how we’ll know when we’ve won)
My loathing of the illegitimate, bisexual, Marxist Kenyan Muslim Usurper requires medication.
Thats easy - when the Taliban accepts our financial aid in exchange for their promise to not brag about killing Americans anymore.
yea....peace talks. Right.....
"As it turned out, the statement released by the Taliban was stunning in its implied rejection of even the minimum US demands and assertive in its own assumption of Afghan leadership and how it would achieve its objectives:
"Washington's dramatic outreach with the Pakistan-backed Taliban came even as US - and Nato-led international coalition handed over the lead on security to Afghan National Forces at a formal ceremony in Kabul, marking a milestone in the protracted conflict in the land-locked country"
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Kicking off the peace talks:
Afghanistan: Nato Security Handover Marked by Deadly Blast [VIDEO]
The official handover of responsibility for security in Afghanistan from Nato to local forces has been marked by a deadly blast. The explosion in the west of Kabul killed three people and injured 30.
Officials said a suicide bomber targeted Mohammed Mohaqiq, a prominent Hazara policymaker in the region and Afghanistan's second vice-president....
Scores of Nato and local officials had gathered to mark the official handover - a significant milestone 12 years after a Nato coalition went in to Afghanistan to expel the Taliban in the wake of the 9/11 attacks....
The Taliban insurgency has been intensifying after the militant group declared a spring offensive. According to UN figures, more than 3,000 civilians were killed between January and June this year, a sharp increase from the 2012 count.
The spice must flow. Maybe the taliban will take a lesser cut than karzai. AT ANY RATE, THE CORRIDOR WILL SHIFT BACK TO IRAN WHERE IT STARTED BEFORE CLINTON OPENED KOSOVO.
I’ve seen the future, I can’t afford it
Tell you the truth sir, someone just bought it
Larger than life and twice as ugly
If we have to live there, you’ll have to drug me
We are leaving. We announced we were leaving years ago. By definition and default, we are negotiating from a position of weakness. What is the point of negotiating? Just leave.
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