A Taliban militant with a RGP rocket lancher in Kandahar, the stronghold of their spiritual leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. (AFP)As U.S. Weighs Taliban Negotiations, Afghans Are Already Talking -- New York Times
KABUL, Afghanistan — Even as President Obama floated the idea of negotiating with moderate elements of the Taliban, Afghan and foreign officials here said that preliminary discussions with the Taliban leadership were already under way and could be developed into more formal talks with the support of the United States.
The Afghan government has been exploring the potential for negotiations with the Taliban leadership council of Mullah Muhammad Omar and with a renegade mujahedeen leader, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, after receiving overtures from them last year, the officials said. The proposal for talks gained additional momentum from an endorsement by Saudi Arabia and the change to a civilian government in Pakistan, both of which increased political pressure on the Taliban to compromise.
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