Peace Talks

There are some who are optimistic about the prospects of peace talks with the Taliban. Certainly the regional powers in the area (India, China, and Central Asia) are hoping stability comes to Afghanistan. The jury is out on Pakistan; while that nation is hosting the peace talks it is hard to tell what game it is playing. The President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, seems intent in pursuing a negotiated settlement. Why not, victory for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) is far into the future - years.

Two very well-informed observers of Afghanistan have penned an article entitled "Time to Negotiate in Afghanistan: How to Talk to the Taliban", Foreign Affairs, July/August 2015. James Dobbins was the Obama administration's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and Carter Malkasian was a political advisor to General Dunford when he was the commander of ISAF.