Afghanistan held secret peace talks with Taliban

Afghanistan held secret peace talks with Taliban

www.tdtnews.com

KABUL - The arrest of the Taliban's No. 2 leader has raised some questions about Afghanistan's involvement in secret peace talks with high ranking members of the group.

Abdul Ali Shamsi, security adviser to the governor of Helmand province, confirmed talks between Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar - second in the Taliban only to one-eyed Mullah Mohammed Omar - and the Afghan government. Several media reports have suggested that Baradar had been in touch with Afghan President Hamid Karzai's representatives, but these are the first details to emerge from the discussions.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This seems to be all over the wires.

Ok so here we go.

Deal time?

Will we get a peace deal signed now that the West has taken some ground? Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and NATO commander Stanley McChrystal all oppose negotiations at the moment.

So now what?


www.tdtnews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I highly doubt that we will see any kind of peace between the Taliban and Afghan Government Forces/Coalition Forces.

I mean sure, The Afghan Government appears to have the Talibans number 2 in custody, but they haven't got the Big Boy yet(No.1). Even if they got the Talibans high command, you'll still find jihadist's attacking Afghan/Coalition Forces, weither these people are Taliban or other terrorist groups associated with them.

reply to post by SLAYER69


Apparently there is good cooperation between Pakistan, Afghan's Karzai and McKhrystal? Otherwise the peace talks wouldn't have happened:

Top Taliban commander captured in Pakistan - report

The top military commander of the Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been captured in Karachi, Pakistan, in a secret raid by U.S. and Pakistani intelligence forces

Barader is believed to have been born in the central Afghan province of Oruzgan. He is the most trusted lieutenant of Mullah Mohammed Omar, the supreme leader of the Taliban, and has been ultimately responsible for the execution of the insurgents' military and political strategy since being appointed to the position in 2002. He is, in effect, chairman of the so-called Quetta Shura – the leadership council of the Taliban, named after the south-western Pakistani city near or in which it is thought to be based – and is known to be close to Osama bin Laden

Well, this seems interesting and a bit unexpected? What is the catch with this alleged secret peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban? If I were the Afghan government, it is probably in good order to tread lightly on this one. They must have a short attention span, because just last year or so, the Pakistani government negotiated with the Taliban, and in return they were allowed to essentially settle in the Swat Valley. Then, the Taliban got comfortable and resorted back to their old ways of terrorizing the locals with installing Sharia Law and "Talibanisation," of the region.

# usually strict regulation of women, including forbidding of most employment or schooling for women;
# the banning of long lists of activities generally tolerated by other Muslims -- movies, television, videos, music, dancing, hanging pictures in homes, clapping during sports events;
# the banning of activities (especially hairstyles and clothing) generally tolerated by other Muslims on the grounds that the activities are Western;
# oppression of Shia, including takfir threats that they convert to Sunni Islam or be prepared to be killed;
# aggressive enforcement of its regulations, particularly the use of armed "religious police";
# the destruction of non-Muslim artifacts, especially carvings and statues such as Buddhas of Bamyan, generally tolerated by other Muslims, on the grounds that the artifacts are idolatrous or Shirk (polytheism)
# harboring of Al Qaeda or other Islamic militia operatives;
# a discriminatory attitude towards non-Muslims such as sumptuary laws against Afghan Hindus the Taliban regime enacted, requiring them to wear yellow badges, a practice that reminded some of Nazi Germany's anti-Semitic policies

en.wikipedia.org...

In other words, they broke the deal. The Pakistan Army had to go up there and dislodge Taliban presence.

The Pakistani military took back multiple Taliban strongholds, such as Rama Kandhao ridge in Matta and a Taliban headquarters in Loenamal. On the 8th of May, the Pakistani military announced that around 80 Taliban fighters had been killed and two Pakistani soldiers had been injured. Air strikes, artillery bombardment and rocket attacks by helicopter gunships are being undertaken extensively. As of 11 May, the military spokesperson of the ISPR report that as many as 200 militants had been killed in the fighting with Pakistan Army troops, also that Pakistan helibourne commandos had been inserted in the area which is the main stronghold of these militants.[34] By early June 2009, most of Swat was freed from Taliban and Mingora, the main town of Swat, was in complete government control and then pakistan government started focusing army on South Waziristan.

en.wikipedia.org...

Personally, I would not make deals with them, but that is just me. I am not a resident of Afghanistan. However, they seem to go against deals and negotiations even before the ink dries and the Swat Valley situation is a prime example. Moreover, if the Afghans were smart, this attempt of reconciliation could be used as a diversion to allow the Taliban to believe it is legitimate and an opportunity to smoke-out the high level leadership. When they come down from the mountains to negotiate, place them all under arrest. They cannot be trusted, and this could be a good opportunity to apprehend senior Taliban leadership. Only if they negotiate themselves without a middleman or third party negotiator. Still, it is probably best to just ignore them and maintain the offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Interesting article!


[edit on 16-3-2010 by Jakes51]

reply to post by SLAYER69


Very Nice, we will see what happens, I think if the Taliban agree to a peace treaty they would "twiddle" there thumbs, build up there forces and thrown the elected government out of Afghan.... Time to come home let them kill each other...

While we respond let's remember that the U.S. Govt. IS the Afghan Govt.
just saying

Originally posted by ModernAcademia
While we respond let's remember that the U.S. Govt. IS the Afghan Govt.
just saying

Lets try remembering instead that the Afghan government was elected by the Afghans.

There is no provisional US government in Afghanistan. The Loya Jirga appointed Karzai in 2002 before the 2004 elections. He was then relected in 2009.

We don't control their country.

I personally don't think we have taken enough real estate yet. As long as the push continues they will talk...and that's all it is...talk. If the push were to cease today the talks would cease tomorrow.

The sound of "boots" next door and the drones overhead have a tendancy to push for negotiation.

Of course Russia says we can't EVER succeed...

SLAYER...a s&f for making me think!

Originally posted by ModernAcademia
While we respond let's remember that the U.S. Govt. IS the Afghan Govt.
just saying

What are you smoking? I did not know Americans voted for Karzi, Did I miss this election? Please someone let me know when we voted for him?

reply to post by SLAYER69


Kind of funny thoughts... Sarkasm.

After latest great attack to "city of Marjah, people of 80 000" - which then find out for us all - was not city after all, and Taliban wasnt there at all - USA and its puppet government realize that its no use to continue fight without maps, or any knowledge from size of its enemies.

I just wonder how they manage to find any Talibans at all, or are these mans just innocent shopkeepers from that raged village of Marjah?

Afghan government is an USA puppet ok ?

Then ,

Why is it negociating with talibans ? Aren't the USA supposed to make no deal with terrorists ?

That's why it's secret.

[edit on 16-3-2010 by ickylevel]

reply to post by ickylevel


Are the Taliban terrorists?
If I recall we went after Al Qaeda. They no longer seem to be in the country.

Petraeus warns of tough year ahead on Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — The man who oversees U.S. forces in both the Iraq and Afghan wars says the fighting in Afghanistan will "likely get harder before it gets easier" and predicts 2010 will be a difficult year.

On Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus (peh-TRAY'-us) said he expects the United States can reduce its forces as planned, from about 97,000 to 50,000 by the end of August.

Petraeus, who heads the U.S. Central Command, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday. As the architect of the successful troop build up in Iraq in 2007, his assessment of America's wars is closely watched in Congress. He said he expects U.S. forces will be able to reverse the momentum gained by Taliban militants in Afghanistan, but Petraeus also said he envisions "tough fighting and periodic setbacks."

No...I don't think the Taliban is necessarily terrorists in the sense we use that word. They do however terrorize as a matter of SOP.

And I think the "militant" Taliban is different than the "run of the mill" Taliban. Maybe the best way to put it is I see degrees of Taliban...

Did that make sense?

reply to post by JanusFIN

After latest great attack to "city of Marjah, people of 80 000" - which then find out for us all - was not city after all, and Taliban wasnt there at all

If you were giving early warning that your area would soon be attacked with overwhelming force, would you stick around?

reply to post by jam321

If you were giving early warning that your area would soon be attacked with overwhelming force, would you stick around?

I never could figure that one out. Could you?

reply to post by mishigas


IMO, it is a quick way to get a victory with low casualties and at the same time push your enemy toward a certain direction. They have already been put on alert that we will regain Kandahar. Look for the Taliban to start exiting their as well.

Karzai Meets Afghan Insurgent Delegation

KABUL, Afghanistan — A delegation from one of the most important insurgent groups fighting Afghan and NATO forces met for the first time with President Hamid Karzai on Monday for preliminary discussions on a possible peace plan with the government.

Spokesmen for Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hezb-i-Islami, and President Karzai confirmed the meeting and said the delegation was also meeting with members of the government and leaders of other political movements.

President Karzai is planning a peace jirga, or assembly, for the end of April and is issuing invitations to a number of insurgent groups as well as to representatives of different factions in Parliament and Afghan civil society.

Not all senior officials in Mr. Karzai’s government have fully endorsed negotiations with such prominent enemies as Mr. Hekmatyar. The first vice president, Marshall Muhammad Qasim Fahim, was cautious in an interview on Monday, saying, “We believe in peace and reconciliation, but step by step.”

He said he had not yet seen the Hezb-i-Islami delegation’s peace proposal, but others who were familiar with it said it included a demand for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

As someone who came home from Afghanistan, I can tell you this. Trust me that if we wanted Bin Laden, we can get him. The reason we haven't got him is b/c the minute we do, a million other Bin Ladens will "pop up" out of the woodwork. If one of us robs a bank or whatever, our gov't could find us in the backwoods hiding under a rock. If we can read "In God We Trust" engraved on a dime from a satellite in space, we can get Bin Laden.