The news has been out there for a while now that the Taliban, the evil-doers we kicked out of power back in 2001, have opened an office in Qatar for the sole purpose of negotiating with the US.
What might they be negotiating? The Hindu website has a pretty good take on that. First, the Taliban negotiating team wants themselves taken off the US "Kill or Capture" list. Makes a certain amount of sense, I guess.
Can you really have a serious talk with someone who has you on a hit list?
Next, release all Taliban prisoners wherever they might be held.
Beyond that, it's all about making the US/NATO capitulation look like some sort of victory. We're literally pleading with the Taliban to make us look good as we high-tail it out of there.
Meanwhile, back in Kabul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is mightily pissed that the surrender talks have started without him. He is the leader of the country, after all. He has retaliated by convening separate peace talks with the Taliban in Saudi Arabia.
Duelling peace talks, as it were.
There's a bit of a novelty involved here, in that the Taliban are humoring Karzai by agreeing to meet with him. In the past, they've refused direct negotiations with Karzai's regime, claiming he's just an American stooge. While anyone who has followed the Afghan fiasco knows that's true, this does seem to indicate a bit of mellowing in the Taliban position.
So it's peace talks here and peace talks there and peace talks all round as we prepare to declare victory and move on to the next fiasco.
Iran.
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