Word: talibanize
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...those important people want a conversation? In recent months, Mullah Omar, the one-eyed veteran Taliban leader, seems to have distanced himself from al-Qaeda. In a September statement, Omar assured foreign nations that Afghanistan would never again be used as a launching ground for international terrorism, as it was before 9/11. "We assure all countries," he said, "that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as a responsible force, will not extend its hand to cause jeopardy to others." Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network and author of a recent book on the war, is convinced that...
...Help if You Aren't There Persuading fighters to think of laying down their arms might be the easiest part of a new approach. They also need to believe they will be safe if they do so. Many Taliban foot soldiers joined the movement simply because they ended up on the wrong side of a local power equation. As with Jameel in Wardak province, affiliation with the Taliban offered them protection. So if they are going to disarm, they need to be confident that the side they are joining will stay and win - otherwise, desertion could be a death sentence...
...there," she probably - if inadvertently - caused fence sitters to reconsider their options. Indeed, Masoom Stanekzai, Karzai's point man on the reintegration policy, says that for it to work, a U.S. commitment of more troops is important. "The stronger presence of security forces in an area means that more Taliban commanders are under pressure," says Stanekzai. "They will ask themselves, 'Continue and be killed, or join the peace process?'" (See who's who in Barack Obama's White House...
...policy has focused on low-level Taliban fighters. But there have been moves to engage the insurgency's leaders too. In a sign of mounting frustration with Karzai's government, Obama recently requested an analysis of Afghanistan's provinces to determine which of them had leaders with whom the U.S. could work directly. The request apparently did not exclude Taliban commanders, a move that has met with approval among Afghans. "There are many capable people in the Taliban ... [who] can be an asset [to the government] if they agree to lay down their arms," says Haleem Fidayee, governor of Wardak...
Others might dispute that analysis. In 2001, the Taliban leadership was fractured between moderates, who sought international engagement, and conservatives, influenced by al-Qaeda, who preferred continued isolation. But assuming that at least some Taliban leaders want to reach out to the West, what would a conversation with them be about? "Everyone says we have to talk to the Taliban," says Hekmat Karzai, director of the Kabul-based Center for Conflict and Peace Studies. "But when you do, what the hell are you going to say?" It's a good question. The first thing the Taliban would want...