Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Now the talking will begin
But will anything useful come of it? We hope since the Taliban and the US are now in a position to discuss how to end the 10 long wasteful years of of Georgie W Bush's Excellent Afghan Adventure.
The White House said today it welcomes the opening of a Taliban office in Dohar, Qatar as an "important first step" toward reconciliation in war-torn Afghanistan, a move that comes as the US marked the handover of security from US-led NATO forces to Afghanistan forces.And hopefully, soon we can let the Afghan government in on the talks.
Senior White House officials said the Taliban later today will release a statement that its members oppose using Afghan soil to threaten other countries and that they support an Afghan peace process – two statements the U.S. has long called for and that fulfill a requirement for opening the political office.
Administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations said the U.S. welcomes the effort as an "important first step toward reconciliation," though they cautioned that "after 30 years of armed conflict in Afghanistan," it's likely to be a "complex, long and messy."
The White House says the US will be pushing for the Taliban and other insurgent groups to break ties with Al Queda, end violence and accept Afghanistan's Constitution -- including protections for women and minorities.
They called opening the office "but one milestone on a path to peace" and called on the Afghan government and Taliban to begin negotiations soon.
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