Afghan President Preparing Direct Talks with Taliban
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SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) — In what is being described as a historic meeting, Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans on holding talks with the Taliban in Saudi Arabia as he seeks an end to the 10-year-long war.
Up to now, the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan until the U.S.-led invasion in October 2001, has refused to deal directly with Karzai’s government. There is also still no official word from the Taliban that it has agreed to negotiate with Karzai.
However, if it turns out to be true, the Afghan administration may be attempting to undercut possible talks between the U.S. and its enemy once the Taliban establishes an office in Qatar.
Karzai and his officials have reportedly been angered by the proposed U.S-Taliban dealings that they believe pose a threat to the fragile democracy’s future.
There are also concerns the Qatar office will be used to raise funds for the Taliban and that the group is just using it to wait out the scheduled U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan by sometime in 2014.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio