Pakistan's not the only one double-dealing

[BrianFromWA]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2016045791_apasafghanistantalks.html

Infuriated that Washington met secretly at least three times with a personal emissary of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Afghan government intentionally leaked details of the clandestine meetings, scuttling the talks and sending the Taliban intermediary into hiding, The Associated Press has learned.
Collapse of the direct talks between Aga and U.S. officials probably spoiled the best chance yet at reaching Omar, considered the linchpin to ending the Taliban fight against the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan. The contacts were preliminary but had begun to bear fruit, Afghan and U.S. officials said.

Perhaps most importantly they offered the tantalizing prospect of a brokered agreement between the United States and the Taliban - one that would allow the larger reconciliation of the Taliban into Afghanistan political life to move forward. The United States has not committed to any such deal, but the Taliban wants security assurances from the United States.

The talks were deliberately revealed by someone within the presidential palace, where Karzai's office is located, said a Western and an Afghan official. The reason for the leak was Karzai's animosity toward the U.S. and fear that any agreement Washington brokered would undermine his authority, they said.

 

[bluefrog]

It's a complicated situation.

The Taliban make up a good portion of the population in Afghanistan. You can't just marginalize them, ignore them, or expect them to realize they are wrong and give up. Their struggle is a religious one and they're not going away any time soon. Haqqani Network are closely allied with the Taliban as well, but they have been known to fight each other for local power. Beyond that, al-Qaida is a worldwide Islamic terrorist organization that is loosely connected with both.

On the GIRoA side, (Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan), Hamid Karzai has been affiliated with organized crime and has pardoned known criminals immediately after their arrest. The Afghan parliament itself is known to house a number of Taliban associates and have also interfered with arrests and the judicial process. Afghanistan is saturated with corrupted officials and warlords. A messy withdrawal is what the U.S. wants to avoid. Negotiations with all players, secret or not, is probably the best thing that the US can do.

 

[jlprk]

"Pakistan's not the only one double-dealing "

Right, and as your quote shows, the U.S. is #1 at it. For exposing U.S. double-dealing on Wikileaks, Bradley Manning has now been charged with "aiding the enemy" and many other charges, and will be sentenced to life imprisonment.

 

[Haakzilla]

WHAT OUR CHILDREN ARE DYING FOR IN AFGHANISTAN...

The Taliban had all but eradicated the opium growers before the US invasion.

So why is cheap Afghani heroin flooding into the United States?

In Afghan fields the poppies grow.
Between the crosses.
Row on row.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

It's a complicated situation.

The Taliban make up a good portion of the population in Afghanistan. You can't just marginalize them, ignore them, or expect them to realize they are wrong and give up. Their struggle is a religious one and they're not going away any time soon. Haqqani Network are closely allied with the Taliban as well, but they have been known to fight each other for local power. Beyond that, al-Qaida is a worldwide Islamic terrorist organization that is loosely connected with both.

On the GIRoA side, (Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan), Hamid Karzai has been affiliated with organized crime and has pardoned known criminals immediately after their arrest. The Afghan parliament itself is known to house a number of Taliban associates and have also interfered with arrests and the judicial process. Afghanistan is saturated with corrupted officials and warlords. A messy withdrawal is what the U.S. wants to avoid. Negotiations with all players, secret or not, is probably the best thing that the US can do.

We need out of that place.