"Karzai holds peace talks with insurgents"

[Clio the Leo]

Karzai holds peace talks with insurgents
March 22, 2010 12:35 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai has held talks with representatives of a major insurgent group whose leader is known for anti-U.S. rhetoric and support for al Qaeda, officials said Monday.

Karzai's deputy spokesman Hamed Elmi told CNN the delegation from the Hizb-i-Islami group of maverick militant Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, which has been behind numerous deadly attacks in Afghanistan, had submitted a peace plan.

"We can confirm that the delegation is in Kabul, they have met with the president and they have a plan with them," Elmi said, adding that he had no knowledge of the plan's contents or any timeline for a government response.

"They have submitted the plan, we're looking at it and analyzing it and will make a decision when we've had time to read it."

Candace Rondeaux, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, described the talks as a "significant" step with global pressure mounting on Afghanistan to reconcile with insurgents as coalition troops plan their exit.

"It's certainly significant in the sense that the door is now open," she told CNN.

"The conversation about reconciliation has been catch-as-you can for the past 10 years but now the deadline to come up with some sort of resolution is really apparent, the pace has quickened."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/22/afghanistan.militants.talks/index.html

[NJmaverick]

1. This is good news as splitting allies away from the Taliban

is one keys to victory. Plus it would free up thousands of soldiers to focus on the Taliban