so the afghans are talking to the taliban

[ridgerunner]

KABUL/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Afghan officials have held secret talks with the Taliban's former second in command who is in detention in Pakistan in a move which could help rekindle stalled peace talks with the insurgents, according to senior officials from both countries.
Afghan officials have often seen Pakistan as a reluctant partner in attempts to broker talks with the Taliban but its decision to grant access to Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar may signal Islamabad's willingness to play a more active role.
Rangin Spanta, the national security adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and an architect of peace-building efforts, said an Afghan delegation had met Baradar in Pakistan two months ago.
Baradar has been in detention since he was captured in a joint operation by the CIA and Pakistani intelligence agents in the Pakistani city of Karachi in 2010.
"We have met Mullah Baradar," Spanta told Reuters in Kabul. "Our delegation has spoken to him to know his view on peace talks."
Afghan officials have publicly been demanding access to Baradar, the Taliban's top military commander until he was captured, but Spanta's revelation shows preliminary contact has already been made.
Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister, also said that Pakistan had granted Afghan officials access to Baradar.
"They had access at the required and appropriate level," Malik told Reuters.
"We are fully cooperating with Afghanistan and whatever they are asking for the peace process, for developing peace in Afghanistan. We are giving every kind of help."
Pakistan is seen as crucial to stability in Afghanistan as most foreign combat troops look to leave the country in 2014, given close political and economic ties and because militant sanctuaries straddle the mountainous border.
Baradar was the main day-to-day commander responsible for leading the Taliban campaign against U.S. and NATO troops, plotting suicide bombings and other attacks.
He was the right-hand man to reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, who gave him the nickname Baradar (brother), providing him with great influence and prestige in Taliban circles.
CRITICAL TO RECONCILIATION?
Afghan officials hope Baradar could play a key role in any negotiations to end the war, acting as a go-between with Taliban leaders including Omar.
Afghan and U.S. officials have publicly acknowledged little success in efforts to re-start peace talks, which the Taliban suspended after accusing U.S. officials of failing to honor confidence-building promises.
That setback refocused attention on nascent efforts by the Afghan government to open its own channels with insurgent intermediaries, despite the fact the Taliban publicly say they will not talk to what they deem an illegitimate "puppet" government.
Karzai, at a recent donors' meeting in Japan, also appealed to Germany to act as a go-between to revive talks, in a second track to contacts with Taliban leaders in Pakistan.
A Western official said Pakistan's decision to grant access to Baradar would bolster hopes of greater collaboration between the two countries, but the Afghan government would only be fully satisfied if Baradar was repatriated to Kabul.
"It's a step in the right direction, but there's still a number of steps to go," the official said.
Although Afghan officials may be pinning hopes on Baradar, it is unclear what influence he may have over a complex insurgency after spending years in detention.
Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed last month to resume regular talks on Afghanistan's peace process, with the new Pakistani prime minister promising to help arrange meetings between Afghan and Taliban representatives.
Afghanistan is known to want access to Taliban leaders belonging to the so-called Quetta Shura, or council, named after the Pakistani city where they are believed to be based.
Kabul believes they would be the decision-makers in any substantive negotiations aimed at ending a war in its eleventh year.
Pakistan has consistently denied giving sanctuary to insurgents and says no Taliban leaders are in Quetta.
The Afghan government has established some contacts with the Taliban, who have made a strong comeback after being toppled in 2001, but there are no signs that full-fledged peace talks will happen any time soon.
U.S. diplomats have also been seeking to broaden exploratory talks that began clandestinely in Germany in late 2010 after the Taliban offered to open a representative office in the Gulf emirate of Qatar, prompting demands for inclusion from Kabul.
(Additional reporting by Matthew Green in Islamabad and Rob Taylor in KABUL; Editing by Robert Birsel)











then why the hell are our troops getting killed in middle east hell??????

fuck the jawas bring our guys home now

[Pandorius999]

Peace talks? It's afghans talking to afghans. The day americans leave they'll hang karzai and the rest will join together like brothers. Depends on the clans there, if a clan decides which way they'll go they'll simply follow. And the taliban sure have a hold on some tribes and clans. It's the nature of afghan politics that no outside power has ever been able to decide it's politics in the long run. American efforrs will meet the same fate.

[Prurient Purveyer]

Originally Posted by ridgerunner

KABUL/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Afghan officials have held secret talks with the Taliban's former second in command who is in detention in Pakistan in a move which could help rekindle stalled peace talks with the insurgents, according to senior officials from both countries.
Afghan officials have often seen Pakistan as a reluctant partner in attempts to broker talks with the Taliban but its decision to grant access to Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar may signal Islamabad's willingness to play a more active role.
Rangin Spanta, the national security adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and an architect of peace-building efforts, said an Afghan delegation had met Baradar in Pakistan two months ago.
Baradar has been in detention since he was captured in a joint operation by the CIA and Pakistani intelligence agents in the Pakistani city of Karachi in 2010.
"We have met Mullah Baradar," Spanta told Reuters in Kabul. "Our delegation has spoken to him to know his view on peace talks."
Afghan officials have publicly been demanding access to Baradar, the Taliban's top military commander until he was captured, but Spanta's revelation shows preliminary contact has already been made.
Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister, also said that Pakistan had granted Afghan officials access to Baradar.
"They had access at the required and appropriate level," Malik told Reuters.
"We are fully cooperating with Afghanistan and whatever they are asking for the peace process, for developing peace in Afghanistan. We are giving every kind of help."
Pakistan is seen as crucial to stability in Afghanistan as most foreign combat troops look to leave the country in 2014, given close political and economic ties and because militant sanctuaries straddle the mountainous border.
Baradar was the main day-to-day commander responsible for leading the Taliban campaign against U.S. and NATO troops, plotting suicide bombings and other attacks.
He was the right-hand man to reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, who gave him the nickname Baradar (brother), providing him with great influence and prestige in Taliban circles.
CRITICAL TO RECONCILIATION?
Afghan officials hope Baradar could play a key role in any negotiations to end the war, acting as a go-between with Taliban leaders including Omar.
Afghan and U.S. officials have publicly acknowledged little success in efforts to re-start peace talks, which the Taliban suspended after accusing U.S. officials of failing to honor confidence-building promises.
That setback refocused attention on nascent efforts by the Afghan government to open its own channels with insurgent intermediaries, despite the fact the Taliban publicly say they will not talk to what they deem an illegitimate "puppet" government.
Karzai, at a recent donors' meeting in Japan, also appealed to Germany to act as a go-between to revive talks, in a second track to contacts with Taliban leaders in Pakistan.
A Western official said Pakistan's decision to grant access to Baradar would bolster hopes of greater collaboration between the two countries, but the Afghan government would only be fully satisfied if Baradar was repatriated to Kabul.
"It's a step in the right direction, but there's still a number of steps to go," the official said.
Although Afghan officials may be pinning hopes on Baradar, it is unclear what influence he may have over a complex insurgency after spending years in detention.
Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed last month to resume regular talks on Afghanistan's peace process, with the new Pakistani prime minister promising to help arrange meetings between Afghan and Taliban representatives.
Afghanistan is known to want access to Taliban leaders belonging to the so-called Quetta Shura, or council, named after the Pakistani city where they are believed to be based.
Kabul believes they would be the decision-makers in any substantive negotiations aimed at ending a war in its eleventh year.
Pakistan has consistently denied giving sanctuary to insurgents and says no Taliban leaders are in Quetta.
The Afghan government has established some contacts with the Taliban, who have made a strong comeback after being toppled in 2001, but there are no signs that full-fledged peace talks will happen any time soon.
U.S. diplomats have also been seeking to broaden exploratory talks that began clandestinely in Germany in late 2010 after the Taliban offered to open a representative office in the Gulf emirate of Qatar, prompting demands for inclusion from Kabul.
(Additional reporting by Matthew Green in Islamabad and Rob Taylor in KABUL; Editing by Robert Birsel)











then why the hell are our troops getting killed in middle east hell??????

fuck the jawas bring our guys home now

They are active in the field too. Two NZ soldiers were killed in an ambush as they went to the aid of Afghan forces under fire. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the whole thing.

I agree with the OP, cut the loses and get the fuck out of there.

[shyguyy2]

Even if our troops were doing some good there it wouldn't matter anyways. They will always go back to the way it was before we were there. Many times when I was in Afghanistan I would talk to the locals and ask them what are you going to do when we leave? They always said they'd go back to the way it used to be. We got OBL there is no reason to stay there.

[ridgerunner]

even god himself left that god forsaken place
my wife is israilie and says to bomb it to hell and back
the whole of the mideast has been a war-zone since before jesus and will always be

200 tons of napalm makes glass of it

[shyguyy2]

Originally Posted by ridgerunner

even god himself left that god forsaken place
my wife is israilie and says to bomb it to hell and back
the whole of the mideast has been a war-zone since before jesus and will always be

200 tons of napalm makes glass of it

Napalm sounds good! Sounds like you have a smart woman there.

[ridgerunner]

7 years together and shes still not wanting to kill me
she looks at the same news i do and looks at her regional history and wants it to end but doesnt want the us involved because she sees how it effects the families of the fallen


so please whoever becomes president BRING MY FAMILY HOME NOW WE HAVE NO FUCKING REASON TO BE THERE AND WE NEVER DID

[shyguyy2]

Originally Posted by ridgerunner

7 years together and shes still not wanting to kill me
she looks at the same news i do and looks at her regional history and wants it to end but doesnt want the us involved because she sees how it effects the families of the fallen


so please whoever becomes president BRING MY FAMILY HOME NOW WE HAVE NO FUCKING REASON TO BE THERE AND WE NEVER DID

Yut! Thats something I agree 100% with.

[Cheltenham]

Here's a little more insight.

For the most part, these 'talks' are about peace. But the Pakistanis and Afghanis want peace on their own terms. Negotiating using American middle men isn't going to end the war. And yes this is a war.

By staying in the 'Middle East' nothing is being improved upon. An entire generation is dying thanks to the politicians who themselves are too old and feeble to go and fight their war.

Pakistan, Afghanistan talk on Taliban leader release
August 11, 2012
RECORDER REPORT

http://www.brecorder.com/top-stories/0/1226101/

Pakistan and Afghanistan are in talks on the release of a key member of the Taliban, whose 2010 arrest in Pakistan was blamed for sabotaging peace initiatives, a foreign ministry official confirmed Friday. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a powerful Taliban military chief who has been described as the militia's second in command, was arrested in Karachi.

The Afghan government and the former UN envoy to Afghanistan said his detention had adversely affected efforts to talk to the insurgents. "The issue of prisoners is under discussion between the two countries," foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan told reporters when asked to comment on Afghan demands for access to Baradar and for his release. The spokesman did not name any prisoner or give further details, but when asked, confirmed that Baradar was still in Pakistani custody.

Baradar is the most important Taliban leader to be captured since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted the Afghan militia from power in Kabul. He was known as a trusted aide to the Taliban's elusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. Shortly after Baradar's arrest, the Pentagon said two other Taliban officials were arrested, also understood to have been captured in Pakistan.

In March 2010, Kai Eide, the then just retired UN envoy to Afghanistan, said the arrest of key Taliban in Pakistan had stopped a secret channel of communication between the insurgents and the United Nations. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly invited the Taliban to open direct talks with his government and on Pakistan to facilitate an end to the 10-year war. Pakistan has said it will do anything required by Kabul to support an Afghan-led peace process.

[Rixer]

Bring the troops home, it serves no purpose for us to be there any longer.

[richief]

Did anyone ever believe this would not happen, not matter what NATO does over there the government of Afghan will have to talk to the taliban, if they don't then they will burn or be hung, shot, stoned etc.
The ANA is a joke as is the police force, patrolling with them is as dangerous as walking through a mine field not one of the fuckers should be trusted.

Pack up our gear and lets bring home the troops.

[lenben]

Originally Posted by richief

Did anyone ever believe this would not happen, not matter what NATO does over there the government of Afghan will have to talk to the taliban, if they don't then they will burn or be hung, shot, stoned etc.
The ANA is a joke as is the police force, patrolling with them is as dangerous as walking through a mine field not one of the fuckers should be trusted.

Pack up our gear and lets bring home the troops.

Afghanistan was invaded as a part of an international coalition denouncing the role of the Taliban in support of the Al Quaida attack on the World Trade Center. The goal: get bin laden - and maybe Mullah Omar. The Taliban will always be there no matter how long we stay. Obama finally got Bin Laden (after George W. botched it by going after oil in Iraq). The day after that, we should have pulled out. There is no goal in Afghanistan.

[NoOneFamous]

I say pull out, toss in a few nukes and say good riddance

[Empress Lainie]

Bring all our troops home and if there is any attack on US citizens or property anywhere in the world by the Islamic militants, each time one of their cities will be incinerated starting with Mecca, then Riyadh, then Tehran.
It might have the effect of other muslims stopping this insanity of suicide bombing after losing a few cities and a few million people.

The US government does not have the guts to do this even with conventional weapons.

Every one of our soldiers in Afghanistan has died in vain completely.
The same can be said for Iran.

For Libya it was about MONEY and the GOLD they had and the non-world banker system Gaddafhi wanted to establish. What happened to the 22Billion in Gold? It will be more like 50billion soon.

[ridgerunner]

the reason i started this thread was due to the almost daily reports of allied soldiers being killed by "our afghan allies" and the insurgents

i dont know how many others here have had a friend or family member enlist because you had served and they want to do something to ,i guess, honor ar respect you and then get killed in the line of duty and thier families blame you or you blame yourself

i lost my cousin almost 2 months ago now and he joined to be like me and now its another ghost in my head

[ridgerunner]

now a new reason for the edits


how did nato and un leaders purchase the cooperation of taliban operatives?







they used penis pills
viagra and ciallis and even "enlargement" pills

[shyguyy2]

I am sick of all this. It seems every morning I turn on the TV and hearing about Marines and soldiers being killed by security forces that are supposed to be friendly.

[Distant Lover]

Originally Posted by shyguyy2

I am sick of all this. It seems every morning I turn on the TV and hearing about Marines and soldiers being killed by security forces that are supposed to be friendly.

That is what happens when the United States occupies a hostile population that is willing to fight back.

[69magpie]

Originally Posted by ridgerunner

so the afghans are talking to the taliban

What's so startling about that........the US and the taliban have been having secret and open talks for a couple of years now.

[shyguyy2]

Originally Posted by Distant Lover

That is what happens when the United States occupies a hostile population that is willing to fight back.

They are friendly fire deaths and the US isn't trying to win a war because the government is being way to fucking "PC". I want my fellow Marines home.

[69magpie]

Originally Posted by shyguyy2

They are friendly fire deaths and the US isn't trying to win a war because the government is being way to fucking "PC". I want my fellow Marines home.

What would be your idea of fighting non-pc?

[shyguyy2]

Originally Posted by 69magpie

What would be your idea of fighting non-pc?

Fighting the way we did in WW2 and Vietnam. Bomb the shit out of them. They don't want to wear a uniform to identify themselves as military then they should all be treated as military weather they are armed or not. No rebuilding and No aid.

[Distant Lover]

Originally Posted by shyguyy2

They are friendly fire deaths and the US isn't trying to win a war because the government is being way to fucking "PC". I want my fellow Marines home.

So do I.

[ridgerunner]

i still believe in the idea of load up the bombers with napalm and turn that whole fucking region into a sheet of glass and never look back