SHADOW SOLDIER - A coalition special operations forces member scans an area for insurgent activity as an AH-64 Apache helicopter provides air support during an operation to destabilize insurgent drug trade near Kajaki village, Afghanistan, June 2, 2011. During the operation, more than 1,000 pounds of black tar opium were destroyed by the Afghan led force. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Ryan WhitneyTaliban, Al Qaeda Pursue Peace Deals. ‘Lost All Hope’ After Bin Laden’s Death -- Washington Times
A large number of Taliban and al Qaeda fighters “have lost all hope” and are seeking peace deals with the Afghan government since U.S. commandos killed Osama bin Laden last month, a senior Afghan official told The Washington Times this week.
He also confirmed reports that the United States has stepped up contacts with the Taliban, which sheltered the al Qaeda leader until U.S. forces toppled the brutal Afghan regime after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
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My Comment: I have been hearing this same story for the past few years. If the Taliban leadership want peace, we will be hearing it not from some 'Afghan official', but from the Taliban leadership council, the Afghan government, U.S./NATO command, and the White House. Until then ... this is all talk and speculation.