Taliban peace talks

(Newser) - Western nations seem to be quickly warming to the idea of talking peace with the Taliban. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who only last month said talks would be premature, backed the idea at a NATO meeting yesterday, the AP reports. "Whenever opportunities arise that are worth exploring, I think...

(Newser) - A former Afghan president who heads a new peace council said today that he's convinced the Taliban are ready to negotiate peace. Burhanuddin Rabbani told reporters in Kabul that the Taliban have not completely rejected the idea of negotiating a nonmilitary resolution of the war. "They have some conditions...

(Newser) - It's official: Hamid Karzai is talking to the Taliban in a last-ditch bid for peace. In an interview with CNN 's Larry King set to air today, the Afghan leader says his government is engaged in "unofficial" discussion with Taliban reps. "We have been talking to the Taliban...

(Newser) - The Taliban are in secret talks with the Afghan government to end the war, according to the Washington Post , which cites Arab and Afghan sources. The Taliban's representatives are this time authorized to speak on behalf of Mullah Omar and other leaders and "they are very, very serious about...