Taliban say U.S. reconciliation offer "lunatic"

[Coventina]

Source: Reuters

KABUL, April 1 (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents rejected on Wednesday a U.S. offer of "honourable reconciliation" as a "lunatic idea" and said the withdrawal of foreign troops was the only way to end the war in Afghanistan.

With the Afghan conflict now in its eighth year, NATO-led forces and the Taliban are locked in a bloody stalemate with violence set to rise further this year as more U.S. troops arrive and seek to contain the insurgency ahead of August elections.

President Barack Obama is redoubling U.S. efforts with more troops, more diplomatic effort and more economic assistance, but he has also already spoken of the need for an "exit strategy".

(snip)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an international conference on Afghanistan on Tuesday that those members of the Taliban who abandoned extremism must be granted an "honourable form of reconciliation".


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed1/idUSISL492329

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Good luck finding those non-extremist Taliban, Hillary!