Clinton says U.S. in preliminary outreach to Taliban

Related Topics

Secretary of State of the U.S. Hillary Clinton speaks at the Central America Security Conference in Guatemala City June 22, 2011. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

Secretary of State of the U.S. Hillary Clinton speaks at the Central America Security Conference in Guatemala City June 22, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Jorge Dan Lopez

WASHINGTON | Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:44am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A political solution is possible in Afghanistan, and the United States is in preliminary outreach to the Taliban there, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday.

"We believe that a political solution ... is possible. The United States has a broad range of contacts at many levels across Afghanistan and the region ... including very preliminary outreach to members of the Taliban," Clinton told a Senate hearing. She added that "this is not a pleasant business," but part of efforts to end the insurgency in Afghanistan.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (1)
Chazz wrote:
I remember other “political” solutions that have worked….One was when politicians worked out “political solutions” that allowed Hitler’s Germany to take Czechoslovakia and then Austria….

Then there’s that “political solution” that allowed the Soviet Union to take Czechoslovakia after the war…and then the “political solution” that created Israel and set off the sh&% storm that’s still raging in the Middle East…

Let’s not forget how our politicians helped the Afghan freedom fighters free themselves from Soviet tyranny promising help and aid once they were successful but in those same politicians abandoned them which allowed the Tally-Ban (as our Pres likes to say) to bring their dark age political system over the people.

I also find it interesting that no one remembers that our near nuclear war with Russia over Cuba and our long bloody involvement in Vietnam was launched and sustained by democratic presidents – not republicans……yet republicans are known as the party of war. The lost lives of all those who fell in Vietnam were for what? After we left the North went on to victory. I expect that to happen again when we pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq, etc. All those lives lost…..for nothing…..

I’m sick and tired of ALL “politicians” who make life and death decisions about people and populations as if those people and populations were merely pieces on a game board.

Jun 23, 2011 12:18pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.