Talking With the Taliban

Navy SEALs meeting recently with Afghan villagers near Kandahar to woo them away from the Taliban / Army photo by Daniel P. Shook

U.S. Navy SEALs and Afghan commandos speak with villagers during a clearing operation in Shah Wali Kot district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, June 7, 2011. Operations such as these are conducted in order to deny Taliban influence and promote the Government of Afghanistan, while providing security and stability throughout the province. The SEALs are with Special Operations Task Force ? South and the commandos are part of the Afghan National Army?s 3rd Commando Kandak. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel P. Shook/Released)

If the U.S. is going to stick to its timetable to pull its forces out of Afghanistan in 2014, it’s going to have to negotiate with the Taliban. It’s strange to say that the morning after the 10^th anniversary of the attacks that led the U.S. to invade Afghanistan in an effort to drive the Taliban from power. It was the Taliban, after all,  who offered the sanctuary to al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden from where they plotted the 9/11 attacks.

The London Times reports this morning:

Washington has endorsed plans for the Islamist network to open political headquarters in the Gulf state of Qatar by the end of the year. The move has been devised so that the West can begin formal peace talks with the Taleban.

The Times’ site requires a subscription, so here’s the Daily Mail’s take.