I am surprised I haven’t heard more about this in the news. Apparently, The Taliban have come to the conclusion that they cannot defeat the U.S. and it’s allies in Afghanistan, and long attempts at a negotiated peace are starting to bear fruit. The Taliban is no longer working with Al Qaeda.
Why isn’t this a big deal?
Read about it at CNN.com:
King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia hosted
meetings between the Afghan government
and the Taliban, a source says.LONDON, England (CNN) — Taliban leaders are holding Saudi-brokered talks with the Afghan government to end the country’s bloody conflict — and are severing their ties with al Qaeda, sources close to the historic discussions have told CNN.
The militia, which has been intensifying its attacks on the U.S.-led coalition that toppled it from power in 2001 for harboring Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network, has been involved in four days of talks hosted by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, says the source.
The talks — the first of their kind aimed at resolving the lengthy conflict in Afghanistan — mark a significant move by the Saudi leadership to take a direct role in Afghanistan, hosting delegates who have until recently been their enemies.
They also mark a sidestepping of key “war on terror” ally Pakistan, frequently accused of not doing enough to tackle militants sheltering on its territory, which has previously been a conduit for talks between the Saudis and Afghanistan.
According to the source, fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar — high on the U.S. military’s most-wanted list — was not present, but his representatives were keen to stress the reclusive cleric is no longer allied to al Qaeda.
