Efforts to bring the Afghan conflict to a negotiated end have picked up momentum following Zalmay Khalilzad’s appointment as the US special envoy for Afghan peace. As part of the renewed efforts, Khalilzad travelled to Afghanistan, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. During his visits, he met with leaders of the five nations, as well as representatives of Taliban’s political office in Qatar. In a statement, the Taliban confirmed that their representatives have met with an American delegation led by Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar to discuss ways to end what they have called the “American occupation of Afghanistan” and the Afghan conflict.
The direct US-Taliban talks are a crucial step, which also had long been demanded by the Taliban as the main insurgent group fighting Afghan government. The Taliban have refused to engage in direct talks with Afghan government because they insist that it is an American “puppet” government, and therefore any such negotiations are useless. Now that the Taliban have been given the opportunity to hold direct talks with Americans, they must properly utilize it in order to reach a peace deal. Both the Taliban and Americans should avoid setting conditions that are impossible to be satisfied by the other side.
In the midst of the fresh push for peace is a concern that if peace talks fail this time, the United States that seems to have been grown weary of its longest war in Afghanistan may use the failure as a ploy to privatize the war. The lobbying of the chief executive of the Blackwater, Erik Prince, concurrent with the peace talks has further escalated the concern. If this scenario is executed, Washington will dodge the blame by declaring that it tried to reach a political deal with the Taliban, but it failed. In case it comes under fire for the continuation of the war, it will simply lay the blame on the Taliban and Afghan government, saying that they did not reach a deal, though it tried.
Therefore, it becomes an obligation for the Afghan sides of the war to exercise caution and act responsibly. Both Afghan government and the Taliban should prudently take steps that can avoid such blame. At this time, the Taliban in particular should not ignore the concern in the reconciliation process. If peace parleys fail due to Taliban’s unrealistic demands, all will pin the blame on them.
