Karzai’s Culture

Afghan Reconciliation Strategy Should Reflect Pashtun Culture – David Ignatius, Washington Post opinion.

How do wars end in the tribal society of Afghanistan? That’s one of the interesting questions that was highlighted by President Hamid Karzai’s visit to Washington last week. During their well-scripted news conference at the White House, both Karzai and President Obama said they favored a process of outreach to the Taliban. And both presidents endorsed, as a start, the “peace jirga” that Karzai will host in Kabul in several weeks.

Obama described a framework for this peace process. He said it must be “Afghan-led” and that it should “open the door to the Taliban who cut their ties to al-Qaeda, abandon violence, and accept the Afghan constitution, including respect for human rights.” But these public comments skirted the hard questions about reconciliation. Of the 1,400 Afghans who will be invited to the jirga, will there be any senior Taliban leaders who could actually explore a deal? What role will Pakistan play in bringing to the table a Taliban leadership it helped create and sustain? How soon do Karzai and Obama see this process moving toward real negotiations? …

More at The Washington Post.