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Negotiating with the Taliban
Thu, March 25th, 2010
Washington, DC
IMGXYZ2387IMGZYXThe recent London Conference on Afghanistan in January 2010, with its focus on a phased transition to Afghan security and conditional reintegration of former Taliban members, has once again revived debate on, and prospects of, negotiations and reconciliation with the Taliban. Optimistic assessments of the Marjah operations and Pakistani cooperation against the Afghan Taliban as well as pessimistic evaluations of the course of counter-insurgency operations and the Afghan state have both been used in favor of talking to the Taliban. The Obama administration has yet to declare its formal position on the matter. Top administration officials themselves have either been guarded or have ruled out reconciliation with top Taliban leadership.
In light of this renewed debate, Carnegie’s Gautam Mukhopadhaya and Jasmeet Ahuja, Professional Staff Member for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, discussed the implications of negotiating with the Taliban.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
Event Speakers
Former Visiting Scholar, South Asia Program
A serving Indian Foreign Service officer of Ambassadorial rank, Mukhopadhaya's research is focused on India’s Afghanistan policy and its relationship with U.S. Af-Pak strategy.
Jasmeet Ahuja
Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, Senior Fellow
George Perkovich is the Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons and a senior fellow in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program. He works primarily on nuclear deterrence, nonproliferation, and disarmament issues, and is leading a study on nuclear signaling in the 21st century.