As Taliban prepares for peace talks, US braces for disappointment
| Washington
After more than a decade of war, the Taliban will be opening a political office in Doha, Qatar, this week in preparation for reconciliation talks with the United States and the government of Afghanistan, the White House announced Tuesday morning.
Senior administration officials, speaking on background, praised the move as a major step in the peace process, but they also batted away any high hopes that the talks will mark an end to fighting 鈥� opting instead to keep expectations low.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be looking for early results,鈥� said a senior administration official. 鈥淭he level of trust on both sides is extremely low, as one might expect,鈥� he added.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a long, hard process 鈥� if indeed it advances significantly at all.鈥�
The US will 鈥渇acilitate and encourage鈥� the talks, but senior administration officials also emphasized that 鈥渢his is a negotiation that will have to be led by the Afghans.鈥�
Senior administration officials also praised Pakistan as being 鈥減articularly helpful in urging the other side 鈥� that is, the Taliban 鈥� to come to the peace process.鈥�
The opening of the Taliban office in Doha has been the result of 鈥渕onths and months鈥� of negotiations with a handful of 鈥渃ore players,鈥� including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, and the US.
President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai discussed the opening of the office extensively during Mr. Karzai鈥檚 visit to Washington this past January, a senior administration official adds. Such an office has also been talked about prior to this year.
The office will house 鈥渇ully authorized representatives鈥� of the Taliban.
Detainee exchanges will probably be an item on the US-Taliban agenda, according to a senior administration official. For the past four years, the Taliban has apparently held US Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl captive. He is believed to be held in Pakistan.
The senior administration officials say that they consider the Haqqani network, which senior US military officials suspect of being responsible for violent attacks in the heart of Kabul, an 鈥渆specially dangerous鈥� and 鈥渃apable鈥� element of the Taliban.
Yet reconciling the Haqqani elements of the Taliban would be a difficult prospect, indicated Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top commander of US troops in Afghanistan: 鈥淎ll I鈥檝e seen of the Haqqanis would make it hard for me to believe that they are reconcilable.鈥�
Ideally, the peace talks will lead to a decrease in violence, which in turn will be helpful in allowing the Afghan military and police to 鈥渢ake the lead鈥� for security throughout Afghanistan, which is set to officially happen this week.
That plan was announced at a summit with NATO officials in Chicago in May 2012.
While Afghan security forces will now be 鈥渋n the lead鈥� throughout the country, this is different from 鈥渃ompletely responsible鈥� for national security, senior administration officials note.
It is not until December 2014 鈥� another 18 months 鈥� that Afghan security forces are slated to be 鈥渇ully responsible鈥� for security throughout the country, 鈥渕eaning that we [US troops] move out of the combat role.鈥�
The White House hopes the reconciliation move will also help lay the groundwork for national elections in Afghanistan, scheduled to take place in April 2014.
Dunford added that he is hopeful that since the peace talks will hinge on the Taliban鈥檚 renouncement of violence, it might serve to reduce deaths throughout the country.
鈥淲e all realize that the successful conclusion of the campaign is eventually going to come through the political process,鈥� Dunford said.
On the question of when the White House would announce post-2014 troop levels for Afghanistan, which analysts point out it has been promising to do for weeks, Dunford said, 鈥淐ertainly by fall we鈥檒l have to have those numbers,鈥� so that any necessary US troops can be in place by then.
