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| Saudi hosts Afghan peace talks with Taliban reps | ||
| 2008-10-06 | ||
| LONDON, England (CNN) -- In a groundbreaking meeting, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia recently hosted talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban militant group, according to a source familiar with the talks. King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia hosted meetings between the Afghan government and the Taliban, a source says. The historic four-day meeting took place during the last week of September in the Saudi city of Mecca, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations. King Abdullah broke fast during the Eid al-Fitr holiday with the 17-member Afghan delegation -- an act intended to show his commitment to ending the conflict. Taliban leader Mullah Omar was not present, the source said.
The current round of talks is anticipated to be a first step in a long process. According to the source close to the talks, it has taken two years of behind-the-scenes meetings to get to this point. The talks took place between September 24 and 27 and involved 11 Taliban delegates, two Afghan government officials, a representative of former mujahadeen commander and U.S. foe Gulbadin Hekmatyar, and three others. It was the first such meeting aimed at bringing a negotiated settlement to the Afghan conflict and for the first time, all parties were able to discuss their positions and objectives openly and transparently, the source said. Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries that recognized the Taliban leadership during its rule over Afghanistan in the 1990s, but that relationship was severed over Mullah Omar's refusal to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. While Mullah Omar was not present at the talks in Mecca, the source said the Taliban leader has made it clear he is no longer allied with al Qaeda -- a position that has never been publicly stated but emerged at the talks. It confirms what another source with an intimate knowledge of the Taliban and Mullah Omar has told CNN in the past. During the talks, all parties agreed that the only solution to Afghanistan's conflict is through dialogue, not fighting. The source described the Mecca talks as an ice-breaking meeting where expectations were kept necessarily low. Further talks are expected in Saudi Arabia involving this core group and others. The reasons for Saudi Arabia's involvement are numerous, including having the trust of the United States and Europe to play a positive role at a time when the conflict appears to be worsening and the coalition's casualty toll is climbing. Also, Saudi Arabia may fear that Iran could take advantage of U.S. failings in Afghanistan, as it is seen to be doing in Iraq.
Coalition commanders regularly accuse Iran of arming the Taliban, and Western diplomats privately suggest that Iran is working against U.S. interests in Afghanistan, making it harder to bring peace. Saudi sources say perceived Iranian expansionism is one of Saudi Arabia's biggest concerns. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #5 The US should NEVER put ground troops or anything else in Saudi Arabia. I prefer the Soddies be on the receiving end of natural disasters, such as 300m spheres of titanium steel at 150,000 km/h impacting the top ten inhabited points in Saudi Arabia, but large thermonuclear weapons would work just as well, I suppose. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-10-06 14:37 |
| #4 I rather the US were chasing Saudis in Arabia than Pakistanis in Afghanistan. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-10-06 10:21 |
| #3 Saudi/Taliban -- not a dime's worth of difference. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2008-10-06 09:56 |
| #2 so by the end of this year the loop will be closed, the talibans will be forgiven, the iraquis never had WMD, Al-Qaeda leaders turn up peaceful, Osama will be found innocent, all the conflicts that began in 2001 will be closed, and someone steps down and walks away as if nothing ever happened... what a chapter in history... |
| Posted by: Don Vito 2008-10-06 07:52 |
| #1 Lets not forget 9/11 they started this and we should finish it not this king abdulh from saudi. That is all I have to say!!! |
| Posted by: Knight 2008-10-06 07:22 |