Word: talibans
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...coalition governments, prominent members of all parties except one have supported the military effort, including former heavyweights like her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder. Also, citizens who are normally lukewarm about employing soldiers abroad get increasingly frustrated with human rights - women's in particular - being trampled on by the Taliban in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. She may do it at a snail's pace occasionally, but Angela Merkel takes things one step at a time. Werner Radtke, PADERBORN, GERMANY...
...omission of women from the Afghan delegation may, however, be taken by many as a portent. The Afghan strategy now being pursued by NATO and its regional partners is predicated on the goal of achieving a political solution, and reconciliation with many of those currently fighting under the Taliban banner. The London conference roundly endorsed a reconciliation fund aimed at wooing Taliban fighters to cross sides, while Pakistan and other regional players are pressing for some form of power-sharing deal to be negotiated with the movement's leaders if they cut ties with al-Qaeda. Such talk has Afghan...
...real momentum, but enough to buoy hopes of progress, with Karzai reaching out to some of those currently outside the government camp at the tribal jirga assembly he plans to convene within weeks. He also plans to convene an international conference in Kabul in the spring, although recent Taliban attacks in the heart of the capital have raised security fears over that event...
...However, some analysts, such as the Pakistan-based veteran journalist and Taliban expert Ahmed Rashid, believe that the Taliban may be ready for a power-sharing deal because they recognize the limits of their insurgency: while they can prevent Karzai from governing most of the country, U.S. firepower can prevent them from taking control too. Moreover, he argues, the safe havens they enjoy in Pakistan may actually make them vulnerable to political pressure for compromise from the Pakistani military. And many in the region doubt that the U.S. and its allies would be willing to accept the burden...
...Even if a growing consensus holds that a political solution is inevitable, the fighting is likely to intensify over the next year. But it will be, fundamentally, a contest over the terms under which the Taliban are to resume a role in governing Afghanistan, not over whether they will play any role...