Windjammer
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*Secret US-Taliban talks reach turning point
* US weighs Guantanamo prisoner transfer
* Taliban asked to enter peace talks
* Official says challenges are enormous
WASHINGTON: After 10 months of secret dialogue with Afghanistans Taliban insurgents, senior US officials say the talks have reached a critical juncture and they will soon know whether a breakthrough is possible, leading to peace talks whose ultimate goal is to end the Afghan war.
As part of the accelerating, high-stakes diplomacy, Reuters has learned, the United States is considering the transfer of an unspecified number of Taliban prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison into Afghan government custody.
It has asked representatives of the Taliban to match that confidence-building measure with some of their own. Those could include a denunciation of international terrorism and a public willingness to enter formal political talks with the government headed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The officials acknowledged that the Afghanistan diplomacy, which has reached a delicate stage in recent weeks, remains a long shot. Among the complications: US troops are drawing down and will be mostly gone by the end of 2014, potentially reducing the incentive for the Taliban to negotiate.
US officials have held about half a dozen meetings with their insurgent contacts, mostly in Germany and Doha with representatives of Mullah Omar, leader of the Talibans Quetta Shura, the officials said.
The effort is now at a pivot point. We imagine that were on the edge of passing into the next phase. Which is actually deciding that weve got a viable channel and being in a position to deliver on mutual confidence-building measures, said a senior US official.
The reconciliation effort, which has already faced setbacks including a supposed Taliban envoy who turned out to be an imposter, faces hurdles on multiple fronts, the US officials acknowledged.
The challenges are enormous, a second senior US official acknowledged. But if youre where we are ... you cant not try. You have to find out whats out there.
If the effort advances, one of the next steps would be more public, unequivocal US support for establishing a Taliban office outside of Afghanistan.
On a possible transfer of Taliban prisoners long held at Guantanamo, US officials stressed the move would be a national decision made in consultation with the US Congress. Obama is expected to soon sign into law the 2011 defence authorisation bill that contains new provisions on detainee policy.
A senior Afghan Taliban commander on Monday denied that the group held secret talks with US officials which had reached a turning point.
How can talks be at a critical point when they have not even started, the commander told Reuters by telephone in response to comments by US officials who say talks have been taking place for 10 months and had reached a turning point.
Senior US officials say they will soon know whether a breakthrough is possible, leading to peace talks whose ultimate goal is to end the Afghan war.
The Taliban have publicly maintained they will not enter into any negotiations while foreign troops are in Afghanistan, so even if they are participating, they might be reluctant to admit that.
Commanders might also worry about morale among fighters on the ground, if their believed their leaders were in talks.
Our position on talks remains the same. All occupying forces have to leave Afghanistan. Then we can talk, said the commander from an undisclosed location.
There is a precedent for the Taliban to respond to events based on political motives rather than their actual role. reuters
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
* US weighs Guantanamo prisoner transfer
* Taliban asked to enter peace talks
* Official says challenges are enormous
WASHINGTON: After 10 months of secret dialogue with Afghanistans Taliban insurgents, senior US officials say the talks have reached a critical juncture and they will soon know whether a breakthrough is possible, leading to peace talks whose ultimate goal is to end the Afghan war.
As part of the accelerating, high-stakes diplomacy, Reuters has learned, the United States is considering the transfer of an unspecified number of Taliban prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison into Afghan government custody.
It has asked representatives of the Taliban to match that confidence-building measure with some of their own. Those could include a denunciation of international terrorism and a public willingness to enter formal political talks with the government headed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The officials acknowledged that the Afghanistan diplomacy, which has reached a delicate stage in recent weeks, remains a long shot. Among the complications: US troops are drawing down and will be mostly gone by the end of 2014, potentially reducing the incentive for the Taliban to negotiate.
US officials have held about half a dozen meetings with their insurgent contacts, mostly in Germany and Doha with representatives of Mullah Omar, leader of the Talibans Quetta Shura, the officials said.
The effort is now at a pivot point. We imagine that were on the edge of passing into the next phase. Which is actually deciding that weve got a viable channel and being in a position to deliver on mutual confidence-building measures, said a senior US official.
The reconciliation effort, which has already faced setbacks including a supposed Taliban envoy who turned out to be an imposter, faces hurdles on multiple fronts, the US officials acknowledged.
The challenges are enormous, a second senior US official acknowledged. But if youre where we are ... you cant not try. You have to find out whats out there.
If the effort advances, one of the next steps would be more public, unequivocal US support for establishing a Taliban office outside of Afghanistan.
On a possible transfer of Taliban prisoners long held at Guantanamo, US officials stressed the move would be a national decision made in consultation with the US Congress. Obama is expected to soon sign into law the 2011 defence authorisation bill that contains new provisions on detainee policy.
A senior Afghan Taliban commander on Monday denied that the group held secret talks with US officials which had reached a turning point.
How can talks be at a critical point when they have not even started, the commander told Reuters by telephone in response to comments by US officials who say talks have been taking place for 10 months and had reached a turning point.
Senior US officials say they will soon know whether a breakthrough is possible, leading to peace talks whose ultimate goal is to end the Afghan war.
The Taliban have publicly maintained they will not enter into any negotiations while foreign troops are in Afghanistan, so even if they are participating, they might be reluctant to admit that.
Commanders might also worry about morale among fighters on the ground, if their believed their leaders were in talks.
Our position on talks remains the same. All occupying forces have to leave Afghanistan. Then we can talk, said the commander from an undisclosed location.
There is a precedent for the Taliban to respond to events based on political motives rather than their actual role. reuters
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
. What happened to that ? 
