In Afghanistan, the Exit Plan Starts With ‘If’

[unhappycamper]

ONGOING Americans keep fighting as strategists try to get the Taliban to peace talks.


In Afghanistan, the Exit Plan Starts With ‘If’
By DEXTER FILKINS
Published: October 16, 2010

KABUL, Afghanistan — After nine years of war, the endgame here has finally begun.

But exactly when the endgame itself will end seems anyone’s guess.

The war in Afghanistan entered a new and possibly decisive stage last week, following statements by American officials encouraging Afghanistan’s elected leaders and the Taliban’s military commanders to reach a settlement to end the war. The Americans said they had gone as far as to help some insurgent leaders travel to Kabul to talk.

That, combined with a fierce escalation of American and NATO attacks on Taliban fighters, suggested that American commanders are trying to force insurgent leaders to make a deal — and in as diminished and shrunken a form as they can be reduced to.

For the moment, though, most signs still point in the Taliban’s favor. America’s strategy in Afghanistan, which is still unfolding, has yet to prove itself in crucial respects.



unhappycamper comment: So much for all that 'progress'. :grr: