Secret U.S. - Taliban Discussions Seem To Be Afoot

Much of what is going on involves the usual diplomatic dance: Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he is willing to talk; the Taliban reply that they are too, but only after foreign troops leave Afghanistan. And there matters appear to stall. But behind the dance are indications that something is beginning to happen. The Nation, one of Pakistan's major English-language newspapers, reports that since late August secret talks have been underway in that country between U.S. officials and the Taliban. According to these unconfirmed reports, the talks – timed in part to coincide with the visit to Pakistan of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte – are aimed initially at resuscitating local truces in Afghanistan's hotly-contested southern provinces. If The Nation is even remotely correct, these developments mark a sea change in America's us-versus-them approach. Since he invaded Afghanistan to depose the Islamists, President George W. Bush has steadfastly refused to talk to them. In late 2001, when Karzai okayed a negotiated deal with Taliban leader Mullah Omar, he was overruled by then U.S. defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld. But with Rumsfeld gone and Bush going, things are changing in Washington. As The Associated Press reported recently, experienced conservative career diplomats are replacing exuberant neo-conservative hawks on key foreign policy files such as Afghanistan. http://www.thestar.com/News/article/256053

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