I had previously reported on the efforts of Afghani President Hamid Karzai to negotiate a truce with the Taliban than would bring them into the government. I noted then that such an effort, unthinkable even a few months ago, reflected the growing strength of the Taliban insurgency and the belief of Karzai that a military defeat of the Taliban was increasingly unlikely. The British Ambassador to Afghanistan even stipulated that the best possible outcome for Afghanistan might now be a dictatorship.

Although initially there was a cold response by the U.S. State Department to the plan, it appears the U.S. administration has come on board. Sensing that this might be the best plausible outcome for Afghanistan, the Bush administration recently endorsed the Karzai talks. American Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this past Monday that he supports the talks if they are able to bring in moderate factions into supporting the government and ending armed opposition. He cited the precedent of bringing in Sunni militants into the political fold in Iraq.

Secretary Gates was quoted as saying:

That is one of the key long-term solutions in Afghanistan, just as it has been in Iraq. Part of the solution is reconciliation with people who are willing to work with the Afghan government going forward.

In the previous post I noted that Karzai had sought, among others, Saudi mediation and that the Saudis had yet to respond to such a request. This fact has changed as well. Ten days ago in the Islamic holy city of Mecca the Saudi government held the first talks between the Karzai government and the Taliban. Both sides agreed that the conflict in Afghanistan will be solved by talks not armed strife. It is not clear if the debates have so far produced anything of substance. It remains to be seen if the talks bring about their goal: Ending the insurgency and uniting Afghanistan under the democratic Karzai government.