New York Times-Locate the "Moderate" Taliban
By Carne Ross
Published in The New York Times under the Room for Debate series in response to the question "Is It Time to Negotiate With the Taliban", 1 September 2009
Should the U.S. negotiate with the Taliban?
Clearly the answer is a conditional yes. The Taliban are not monolithic. With no decisive military victory available, the U.S., its allies and the elected Afghan government have every interest in tempting the more moderate Taliban to give up fighting, and isolating the hard core. The conditions on which this should be done are also pretty clear: a willingness to accept and work with the elected government. That part is simple.
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