US negotiating with ‘moderate’ Taliban, talks focus on US withdrawal timetable

[Naveed Yaseen]

LAHORE: Leaders of the groups battling the Afghan government are talking to intermediaries about a potential peace agreement, with initial demands focused on a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops.

The talks are supported by the Afghan government. The US government has publicly declared its desire to coax “moderate” Taliban fighters away from fighting but says it will not be involved in the talks until the Taliban agree to lay down arms.

The discussions have so far produced no agreements, with the insurgents insisting that any deal include an American promise to pull out.

The talks are significant in that they suggest how a political settlement may end the war, and how such negotiations may proceed. They also raise the prospect of potentially difficult decisions by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US President Barack Obama, who may have to consider making deals with leaders with brutal and bloody pasts. Some of the leaders in the talks have been Al Qaeda allies.

The talks, underway for months, have accelerated since Obama took office and have produced more specific demands.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2009_pg1_8