With President Hamid
Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a
Pashtunface on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
away in London to participate in trilateral talks with Britannia and Pakistain launched for the purpose of getting peace negotiations with the Taliban back on track, Agha Jan's statement on Tuesday came as a welcomed surprise.
Many experts have grown doubtful of any reconciliation deal being struck between the faceless myrmidons and Kabul before the spring elections or the withdraw of foreign troops in 2014. However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried...
Agha Jan leant credence to his claims by asserting that his authority to move the peace talks forward came on behalf of the Taliban's supreme leader, the reclusive Mullah Omar
... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title
Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality...
.
The High Peace Council (HPC) was highly positive about the announcement, suggesting it was a reliable signal that tangible gains in the grinding of the peace processor were soon to come.
"He doesn't only speak for himself, he talks on behalf of the Taliban's top commander Mullah Omar, and Omar is the leader of the Taliban group, so it's really positive and we support it," said HPC front man Maulavi Shahzada Shahid.
Agha Jan said the Taliban's renewed willingness to come to the negotiating table was based on their desire to bring the country out of crisis and establish longstanding peace in Afghanistan.
"Taliban are ready for a ceasefire, we don't support war," he said. "All, including the Taliban, have paid a major price in the war."
The Taliban political leader's comments fly in the face of the fears of many Afghan and foreign officials who have suggested the bad turban group is looking to derail the upcoming elections. Nevertheless, those fears are based on the observation of action, like the recent liquidation of the Kunduz IEC Chief and abduction of five IEC officials in Faryab province. For now, the Taliban's commitment to peace remains rhetorical.
That does not mean Agha Jan's announcement on Tuesday wasn't a major break for the process that has been stagnant since an attempt at talks floundered in Qatar nearly five months ago. As the HPC's remarks indicate, a statement of willingness and expectation that talks will begin soon is a major step in and of itself.
Over the past months, the Afghan government has been focusing on making inroads with Pakistain in hopes of getting it to help get the grinding of the peace processor rolling. Those efforts have not seen much success, as Karzai's request to have Taliban leader Mullah Baradar released from prison was agreed to by Islamabad, but then never carried through.
That issue was expected to be an item of discussion this week between Karzai and Pak Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
in London.
Members of the Afghan government and their unofficial delegates have reportedly been engaged in backroom communication with the Taliban in hopes of kick-starting the grinding of the peace processor. Whether or not that behind-the-scenes dialogue played a part in Agha Jan speaking up on Tuesday is uncertain.
One of the major reasons Karzai government officials have been so eager to make progress on the grinding of the peace processor, other than the fact that Karzai will not be in a position to do so after the election in April, is that the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
combat mission ends in December of 2014. The departure of coalition troops from Afghanistan has led to a significant amount of hand-wringing about a potential security vacuum that could mean a death blow to the still fledgling Kabul regime that has been in place since 2003.