subject: Peace Talks With The Taliban Are Ongoing [print this page] Although they have not been publicly disclosed there are ongoing peace talks between the United States, the Taliban, and the Afghan government. We know that they are ongoing because it was announced that they would begin but few if any details of the progress of these talks have been leaked to the public.
There are major differences on both sides and each side wants concessions made that would be difficult for the other side to honor but I believe that peace will be the result of these talks.
The Obama administration and the Taliban each voiced readiness to enter peace talks while pledging to carry on with a decade of military conflict in Afghanistan until their rival objectives are met.
The separate statements by senior U.S. and Taliban officials illustrated the improved environment for Afghan reconciliation efforts as well as the daunting task ahead. Despite the possibility of some trust-building measures in the near future, such as the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar and the transfer of some Afghan detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, both sides remain committed to the fight.
According to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton everyone, including Afghan President Hamid Karzai, is going into the talks with a very realistic sense of what is possible.
The expected talks have begun but there has been little or no word about exactly what is happening in them. The biggest detriment to the Afghan government is that the Taliban only views them as US puppets so they may not take President Karzai seriously when he makes his demands for relations to be restarted between the militants and the Afghan government.
The United States and its coalition allies are preparing to withdraw most of their forces and end combat operations in 2014, with responsibility for security transferring to the greatly expanded Afghan army and police. This will have an effect on the outcome of the talks and it seems that it will probably bolster the confidence of the Taliban that they will get the concessions that they want.
It is interesting to see exactly what will happen once the United States and NATO pulls out all of their troops. My belief is that the Afghans will be well equipped to handle the Taliban after the present warfare has ended. There is no doubt however that there will be a contingency of troops left behind to keep the situation in hand.
Despite a surge of foreign troops into Afghanistan in the past two years, and an overwhelming superiority in both numbers and firepower, the military effort has been unable to defeat the insurgency. Many now fear that a resurgent Taliban will be able to exploit the withdrawal of the 130,000-strong force over the next three years by recapturing wide areas of the south and east.
I believe that both sides are war weary and want the situation to end. For this reason I believe that concessions will be made and peace in the region will be the result. There are those who dont want peace because it would be to their benefit for the war to continue and serve to keep the Afghan and US governments tied up. Continued war hinders the progress of the Afghan government both socially and economically. There are also others who want to control the region. Military Ring Express
