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Against Odds, Path Opens Up for U.S.-Taliban Talks
Keywords:
The prospects for direct U.S. talks with the Taliban after the planned opening of a Taliban office in Qatar. The preliminary efforts were started by U.S. special envoy for S. Asia, Richard Holbrooke. Holbrooke died in 2010, and his successor, Marc Grossman, a former ambassador to Turkey, has continued the efforts as senior representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Grossman now has a team of officials from the Defense Department, the State Department and Intelligence agencies working with him. After a decade of war, a shift in public opinion in the U.S. to domestic issues, and a withdrawal date by the international forces set for 2014, the time appears right for the negotiations that would end this war. Grossman has the backing of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in this push for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. The recent deterioration of U.S. relations in Pakistan to a breaking point, the complex relationship between the Taliban and the Pakistan military, the growing unpopularity of the U.S. in Pakistan, the meaningless struggle with a Taliban with intrinsic links in the Pakistan military, and the fragility of the elected government in the country are other factors that may be leading the U.S. government to look at the bigger picture and grasp any opportunities towards a negotiated settlement.
Taliban and peace talks with the U.S- 2011-2013
01/05/2009
Grouped Articles
Pakistan to Release Senior Taliban Leader
Wall Street Journal 09/11/2013
Sharif and Karzai Try to Repair Ties
Wall Street Journal 10/30/2013
Wall Street Journal 06/10/2014
Unruly Factions Hurt Taliban’s Bid to Capture Afghan Hearts, and Territory
New York Times 01/02/2015
Taliban Leader Mullah Omar Is Dead, Afghan Spy Agency Says
Wall Street Journal 07/30/2015
Taliban Shows Interest In Negotiated Settlement
New York Times 08/03/2011
Taliban and its chief Mullah Omar.
01/05/2009
Grouped Articles
Pakistan to Release Senior Taliban Leader
Wall Street Journal 09/11/2013
Wall Street Journal 06/10/2014
Around an Invisible Leader, Taliban Power Shifts
New York Times 12/28/2014
Taliban Leader Mullah Omar Is Dead, Afghan Spy Agency Says
Wall Street Journal 07/30/2015
A Dogged Taliban Chief Rebounds, Vexing U.S.
New York Times 10/11/2009
Taliban to Open Political Office in Qatar
New York Times 01/03/2012
Buying out Taliban fighters in the war in Afghanistan.
11/28/2009
Grouped Articles
Leader of Pakistani Taliban Killed in Drone Strike
Wall Street Journal 11/02/2013
Around an Invisible Leader, Taliban Power Shifts
New York Times 12/28/2014
Afghans Offer Jobs to Taliban Rank and File if They Defect
New York Times 11/28/2009
Afghan Tribe, Vowing to Fight Taliban, to Get U.S. Aid in Return
New York Times 01/28/2010
The Taliban Donât Seem Ready to Talk
New York Times 01/23/2010
Few Taliban Take Up Afghanistanâs Offer to Switch Sides
New York Times 06/19/2011
The Taliban in their Own Words.
01/05/2009
A Washington Post-Newsweek account of the Taliban's disintegration after the U.S. invasion post 9/11 and the way they gradually came together to pose the threat they now pose. See the link to NY Times accounts of how the Pakistan Inter Services Intelligence operates behind the scenes to back the Taliban, which may provide the other side of the story how the Taliban gain the sophistication and support they need to reorganize. And the links to the failure of the Karzai regime that has played into Taliban leader Mullah Omar's hands.
Grouped Articles
Around an Invisible Leader, Taliban Power Shifts
New York Times 12/28/2014
How the Pakistani Taliban Became a Deadly Force
New York Times 12/16/2014
Taliban Leader Mullah Omar Is Dead, Afghan Spy Agency Says
Wall Street Journal 07/30/2015
The Taliban in Their Own Words | Print Article | Newsweek.com
Unknown 12/28/2009
Taliban Shows Interest In Negotiated Settlement
New York Times 08/03/2011
U.S. Preparing for Pakistan to Restrict Support for Afghan War
New York Times 12/25/2011
Taliban shadow government in Afghanistan- 2011-2014
02/06/2011
Grouped Articles
Pakistan to Release Senior Taliban Leader
Wall Street Journal 09/11/2013
Leader of Pakistani Taliban Killed in Drone Strike
Wall Street Journal 11/02/2013
Around an Invisible Leader, Taliban Power Shifts
New York Times 12/28/2014
Afghans Form Militias and Call on Warlords to Battle Taliban
New York Times 05/24/2015
Taliban Leader Mullah Omar Is Dead, Afghan Spy Agency Says
Wall Street Journal 07/30/2015
Afghanistan's Hidden Taliban Government
New York Times 02/06/2011
Obama and Holbrooke: A Missed Opportunity
01/04/2008
Holbrooke grasped from his long experience in overseas conflicts what the best solution would be for Afghanistan- a negotiated settlement with the Taliban and Pakistan's army. The lack of White House support to the negotiator of the Dayton Peace accords in Bosnia, will remain a puzzling aspect of a landscape in America's costly involvement in two wars. Holbrooke's larger than life personality and style was the same under President Clinton who tapped Holbrooke's skills in America's interest and ignored posssible distractions. The failure of Obama to do the same and accomodate the personality to tap the vast trove of experience and wisdom of Holbrooke in a national crisis of two ongoing wars, is a comment on the nature of the leadership offered by the two presidents. It is a loss for America that goes unnoticed.
Grouped Articles
Pakistan to Release Senior Taliban Leader
Wall Street Journal 09/11/2013
Ex-Envoy Says Misunderstanding Runs on Both Sides of U.S.-Pakistan Ties
New York Times 10/22/2013
Sharif and Karzai Try to Repair Ties
Wall Street Journal 10/30/2013
Leader of Pakistani Taliban Killed in Drone Strike
Wall Street Journal 11/02/2013
Gates Faults Obama Over Afghanistan
Wall Street Journal 01/08/2014
Back on World Stage, a Larger-Than-Life Holbrooke
New York Times 02/08/2009
A much diminished Al Quaeda in Afghanistan next to a growing Taliban focussed on local issues.
01/06/2008
This factors into whether it makes sense for the US to commit large forces in Afghanistan with no clear mission as General Powell suggests.
Grouped Articles
Leader of Pakistani Taliban Killed in Drone Strike
Wall Street Journal 11/02/2013
Wall Street Journal 06/10/2014
Around an Invisible Leader, Taliban Power Shifts
New York Times 12/28/2014
Unruly Factions Hurt Taliban’s Bid to Capture Afghan Hearts, and Territory
New York Times 01/02/2015
Taliban Leader Mullah Omar Is Dead, Afghan Spy Agency Says
Wall Street Journal 07/30/2015
Al Qaeda's Diminished Role Stirs Afghan Troop Debate
Wall Street Journal 10/06/2009
The beginning of a negotiated settlement of the Afghan conflict through direct talks with the Taliban in 2012
11/13/2011
America's veteran diplomat, Richard Holbrooke- who is known for the Dayton Accords that settled the conflict in Yugoslavia-initiated the early efforts for a negotated settlement with all the warring factions including the Taliban, the ISI and the Pakistan military. After his death in 2010, these efforts were continued by Marc Grossman, a former ambassador to Turkey. The Taliban's willingness to open an office in Qatar and the willingness of all sides to talk directly opens the path to a negotiated settlement.
Linked Articles
Against Odds, Path Opens Up for U.S.-Taliban Talks
New York Times 01/11/2012
Book review: ‘The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World’ - The Washington Post
Washington Post 11/13/2011
The hidden virtues of Hillary Clinton- a different approach to foreign conflicts
04/30/2009
Hillary's adoption of the Dutch military's model for the U.S. role in Afghanistan and following up on the work of South Asian envoy Holbrooke, who settled the Balkan conflict with peace accords under Bill Clinton.
Linked Articles
Against Odds, Path Opens Up for U.S.-Taliban Talks
New York Times 01/11/2012
U.S. Takes Dutch Military as Role Model in Afghan Operation
Wall Street Journal 04/30/2009
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