Talking to the Taliban

It is no longer a secret that President Karzai’s government wants to hold talks with the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan through the mediation of the Saudi government and assisted by British intelligence. Apparently, the groundwork for negotiations is being prepared by a senior Afghan cleric who defected from the Taliban and is now being used as a go-between by the Saudis. Hours before details of the back-channel negotiations emerged, Mullah Omar, the reclusive Taliban leader demanded the withdrawal of foreign forces in Afghanistan, allegedly stating: “Reconsider your wrong decision of wrong occupation, and seek a safe exit to withdraw your forces" or "you will be defeated in all parts of the world ... like the former Soviet Union." This comes at a time when there appears to be a growing divide between NATO allies on the approach to the growing insurgency in Afghanistan. While General McKiernen, the top American commander has called for an additional three combat brigades to stem the rise of violence, a growing number of voices within the British government have called for a political solution to resolve the issue. Britain’s senior most military commander in Afghanistan recently warned that the war in Afghanistan could not be won and that there was need “to change the nature of the debate from one where disputes are settled through the barrel of the gun to one where it is done through negotiations.” Others in the British government have questioned the wisdom of additional troops in the region. In a leaked memo published in the French weekly, Le Canard Enchaine, the British Ambassador to Afghanistan conveyed his concerns through a cable to his French counterpart stating: “The presence, particularly military, of the [U.S.-led] coalition is a part of the problem, not of the solution." Meanwhile, the financial and military toll on NATO members has become all the more evident with the U.S urging Japan and other countries, who have refused to send troops to Afghanistan, to pay approximately $17 billion to build the Afghan army. From left, U.S. Army Pfc. Jerry Cleveland and Spc. Brett Mitchell, both from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), fire a 120mm mortar during a combat operation in the Da\'udzay Valley in the Zabol province of Afghanistan Oct. 23, 2007. The operation is a joint Afghan National Army and ISAF mission to clear anti-government elements from the Dawzi area in Zabol province, Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jim Downen)