Afghanistan - Reflecting on the Taliban

Mar 26th 2009 | KABUL
From The Economist print edition

IN A recent interview with the New York Times, President Barack Obama argued that “part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists but who were willing to work with us,” and suggested “there may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region.” Amid the various reviews of Western policy in Afghanistan now under way (see article), one theme has been constant: if a military solution to the insurgency is unlikely, it may be necessary to talk to the insurgents. But is that really possible? And are there “moderate” Taliban who would be willing to talk to the NATO-led alliance?

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