Talks With Taliban Still the Best Prospect

Afghanistan was the base for planning the 9/11 attacks on the US, and the US invaded the nation not long afterward. But more than five years later, Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other extremist groups still wreak havoc throughout the country. “In the end, it will probably be necessary to deal with the Taleban or their sympathisers (if a distinction can really be made), as the Afghan and Pakistani governments are already doing,” writes Bronwen Maddex, columnist for “The Times” in London. Allegiances shift quickly in an impoverished nation, with low literacy rates, multiple languages and diverse ethnicities, particularly after years of war and chaos following the 1979 Soviet invasion. After the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, the Taliban took control of the government, imposing an extreme form of Islamic law that essentially denied rights to women. Taliban supporters remain a diverse group, including villagers who seek security and farmers who make a living by growing opium. The Afghan government and NATO would be wise to find ways to convince the less adamant supporters of the Taliban to shift allegiance – and that requires some dialogue. – YaleGlobal