Speaking on WBEZ Chicago, Carnegie's Sarah Chayes argued that the United States has been too tolerant of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's political gesturing, and as a result, negotiations for a peaceful resolution to the conflict there are off track. She suggested that a major course correction is needed if the governments are to succeed in staunching the violence, and recommended as a first step broadening negotiations to include a diverse group of constituents within Afghanistan, rather than focusing exclusively on the Taliban. Chayes also observed that the U.S. government has sent very mixed signals to Karzai, further complicating efforts to end the war on favorable terms.
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