Bush's Afghan puppet Karzai offers peace talks with Taleban to end bloodshed

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KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday offered peace talks with a resurgent Taleban after the bloodiest year since the hardline Islamists were ousted in 2001 and amid warnings of a violent spring offensive.

More than 4,000 people, including about 170 foreign soldiers, died in fighting last year, a year that saw a dramatic jump in suicide bombings as the Taleban and other militants copy tactics from insurgents in Iraq. snip

Karzai two years ago offered amnesty to those Taleban he and others regard as moderate, but on Monday made no such distinction.

No senior Taleban commander or leader has surrendered or joined the government as part of past efforts to bring them into the mainstream and senior rebel leaders have ridiculed such calls as a sign of weakness.