Discussions that could pave the way to end the fighting in Afghanistan

[Jeffersons Ghost]

Petraeus Says Taliban Have Reached Out to Karzai
By ALISSA J. RUBIN
Published: September 27, 2010

PARWAN, Afghanistan — The top American commander in Afghanistan said Monday that high-level Taliban leaders had reached out to senior Afghan government officials in the context of starting reconciliation discussions that could pave the way to end the fighting in Afghanistan.

For months, efforts at reconciliation have been stalled at every level, and this is the first explicit public suggestion that there is extensive behind-the-scenes contact between insurgents and the Afghan government.

Gen. David H. Petraeus, in a meeting with reporters after a tour of the United States-run Detention Facility here, where American forces detain Afghans they suspect of supporting the insurgency, said the Taliban were making efforts to establish contact with senior members of the Afghan government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/world/asia/28afghan.html?ref=global-home

[gratuitous]

1. If this is true

The predictably tiresome hawk reaction will be, "They wanna negotiate? That must mean we got 'em on the run! More troops, more missions, more death, more destruction. They're just about to collapse!" And the Big Fool said, "Push on!"