Peace Talks

At one point in late July it seemed that some concrete steps towards peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban were being taken. Most insurgencies are solved through a political process - few are won militarily (and we know that the ANDSF are far from being able to accomplish that). With that in mind there are some optimists out there who are looking at the glass half full with hopes that peace talks can generate some momentum and end the constant warfare that Afghanistan has seen for so many decades. However, the news that Mullah Omar (the leader of the Taliban) has been dead for two years have thrown the Taliban leadership in disarray and put the peace talks on hold. In addition, it seems the new leader of the Taliban has walked away from negotiations. The recent spate of bombing attacks in Kabul have increased tensions between Pakistan (who supports the Taliban) and Afghanistan. So . . . the peace talks appear to be on hold. Carter Malkasian, a former advisor to the ISAF commander, provides us his thoughts on the future of peace talks in "Is Peace Possible in Afghanistan?", Foreign Affairs, August 18, 2015.

Peace Talks in Doubt? Bruce Riedel did 30 years service at the Central Intelligence Agency including postings in the Middle East. He was a senior advisor on South Asia to the last four administrations. Currently he is with the Brookings Institute. Read his article about the diminished hopes for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in "The Taliban Affirm their alliance with al-Qaida: Afghan peace talks in doubt", Brookings.edu, August 20, 2015.