Foreign Policy, 20 October 2014
Very interesting think piece by Barney Rubin, suggesting options how to get a political solution including the Taleban – and not just a ‘deal’ with the Taleban – going again, as part of the constitutional review (over the possible inclusion of the position of a CEO/prime minister). His main and very valid argument: “a political settlement is the sole way to reduce the country’s overwhelming security expenses to a level it can sustain and create the conditions for stability and development that both Afghanistan and its neighbors desperately need.”
He suggests some elements of how the current deadlock can be broken, for example by the new Ghani-Abdullah government recognising “that the Taliban’s political office in Doha represents the movement”, “asking for some good offices from the U.N. and lifting Karzai’s ban on track-two meetings between Taliban representatives and unofficial groups of Afghans.” He also points out the issues that stand in the way of a more constructive role of Pakistan: the unrecognised Durand Line and the presence of some Pakistani Taleban elements on Afghan soil (although this is largely out of Kabul’s control).
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 9 Mar 2020
