Barack Obama Gives Taliban Blessing to Open Political Offices in Qatar
On Sunday the Taliban attacked a US outpost in Afghanistan injuring 77 US soldiers.
An Afghan police officer investigates the destruction outside Combat Outpost Sayed Abad in eastern Wardak province of Afghanistan on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011. A powerful Taliban truck bomb that wounded 77 American soldiers and killed five Afghans outside a combat outpost served as a reminder on Sunday that 10 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, nearly 100,000 U.S. troops are still fighting a war that shows no signs of slowing down. (AP/Mohammad Naser)
Today it was reported that Barack Obama gave the Taliban his blessing to open their first political offices in Qatar.
The Daily Mail reported:
Talks to end the 10-year war in Afghanistan could be on the horizon after the U.S. backed a plan to let the Taliban open political headquarters in the Middle East.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is likely to open a base in Qatar before Christmas, The Times said.
It is hoped this will help facilitate peace talks which could lead to a truce with the Taliban.
Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is understood to be backing the negotiations.
When the HQ is opened in the Qatari capital Doha, it will be the first time the Islamist group has been treated like a political party since it fell from power in 2001.
The Times said the Taliban wants to make sure its members are free from harassment and arrest whilst based in the city.
The Gulf state is believed to have agreed to let the group have a base after Washington decided that it should be located away from the influence of Pakistan.
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