Report: Taliban Open to Deal with US to End Afghan War

Leadership Open to Keeping US Occupation, Wants Karzai Out

A new briefing paper from the British Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) quotes several Taliban members close to Mullah Omar, including an unnamed former minister and a former lead negotiator for the faction as believing that a negotiated settlement is still attainable in the ongoing war.

They say that the Taliban are fully “prepared to work with the US” on a deal including long-term security arrangements and potentially the continuation of the US occupation in some form, but only under certain conditions.

The paper lays out in considerable detail the possible conditions for a settlement, saying that they consider any deal that requires them to recognize the Karzai government as a “non-starter.”

The long and short of it is that the Taliban are fine with breaking all links with international militant factions and making considerable reforms, but want to return to a position of preeminence in Afghan governance. US officials have not commented on the possibility of such a deal.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.