The end of the war is near!
"US says fate of talks depends on Taliban actions; Militants lower flag that angered Afghan leader" by Kathy Gannon and Deb Riechmann | Associated Press, June 23, 2013
DOHA, Qatar — The Taliban's newly opened political office in Qatar might have to be closed....
A Taliban spokesman in Doha, Shaheen Suhail, for the first time suggested the Taliban were willing to discuss a cease-fire, as well as the presence of US troops in Afghanistan to train Afghan security forces after the end of the NATO combat mission in 2014. He even agreed to the rights of women being on the table, a nod to fears among women, mostly in Afghanistan’s cities, that the Taliban would reinstate restrictive rules such as the mandatory wearing of the all-encompassing burqa.
While most women in Afghanistan still wear the burqa, it was law during the Taliban rule. They also did not allow girls to attend school, which they have also backed away from.
Related:
"She taught at one of the handful of girls’ schools the Taliban permitted"
Huh?
‘‘Yes there should be a cease-fire but first you have to talk about how to reach a cease-fire. How can it be done in one day?’’ he asked. ‘‘It can be part of the agenda and discussed, also foreign troops in Afghanistan can be part of the agenda, the general concern of the Afghan people, of the Afghan women can all be part of the agenda. It is only when this process goes forward can we make progress.’’
The Taliban earlier said they have agreed to free US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl — a 27-year-old Hailey, Idaho, native who was captured four years ago in Afghanistan — in exchange for five Taliban prisoners being held in the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba....
Meanwhile on the battlefield, 18 Taliban militants were killed Saturday when they attacked a local security post in northern Afghanistan, sparking fighting that also left two Afghan policemen dead, Afghan officials said.
A militant attack also killed a coalition service member in the south on Saturday, NATO said. The statement did not provide a nationality or further details.
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All that other stuff such garbage, and nothing more than semantic excuses to avoid peace.
Related: Talking Peace With Taliban a Problem
Just mho, but I don't think it's them.
Also see: Pakistan leader seeks talks with Taliban
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Afghans voice support for peace talks with Taliban" by David Rising | Associated Press, June 24, 2013
KABUL — On Sunday, Taliban spokesman Shaheen Suhail reasserted the Islamic movement’s dismay over the controversy and made it clear that the Taliban had made no offers or concessions after Secretary of State John F. Kerry’s warning a day earlier that their newly opened office could be forced to close if the spat remained unresolved....
There have been signs of increasing efforts to get the talks with the Taliban back on track....
Militants, meanwhile, persisted with their campaign of violence....
Yeah, only the militants are responsible for violence.
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Sorry, folks, I'm just sick of rank, public relations imagery and illusion.
Maybe the Globe can get talks going:
"Taliban talks should proceed, despite blunders and fears" June 24, 2013
Talks should move forward. No one should let a flag scuttle this effort before it even begins....
Oh, the Globe and I agree!
The fact is: Neither the US military nor Afghan forces can kill their way out of this conflict.
Then all these years of grinding stalemate and the lives lost meant.... nothing.
The best possible solution is a more moderate Taliban that gives up armed rebellion, accepts the Afghan Constitution, and stands for elections like a normal political party. Some Taliban leaders are already leaning in this direction, and have expressed an acceptance of girls’ education, as long as it is not coeducational.
They already accepted girls education, as you saw above; however, it's the metamorphosis and sending of mixed messages that makes me mad. Now the "terrorists" can have their own political party?
Whether the Taliban can moderate enough to be acceptable to most Afghans remains to be seen. But what Taliban leaders want, above all, is power and international recognition. If they see they are more likely to achieve those goals through the political process, rather than an insurgency, negotiations have a chance.
Tell it to the Syrian insurgents, Globe.
But credible peace talks must be backed by credible military options.
Not if you are the Taliban or the "enemy." Then you must cease all operations now!
For the talks to have teeth, some US troops must remain in Afghanistan after 2014, to keep the pressure on....
The war isn't ending even if the mouthpiece proclaims such.
Secretary of State John Kerry should give assurances that he isn’t going to strike a secret deal with the Taliban that leaves Karzai in the cold, as Henry Kissinger once did to South Vietnam in an analogous situation....
Or like the U.S. did the last time in Afghanistan in the early 1990s.
In the same vein, the Afghan government should assure the Afghan people — including human rights groups and women — that it will not leave them out in the cold.
Speaking of cold, not much was made of the harsh winter and Afghan refugees.
Any agreement with the Taliban ought to be put to a referendum before coming into force.
Yeah, referendums are great according to the Globe -- unless they are for things like lower taxes and medical marijuana.
Of course, it's opium that's the problem in Afghanistan.
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