TALIBAN SAYS WILL OPEN AN OFFICE IN QATAR

 

ED: MSM says: "A former Taliban militant holds his weapon prior to handing it over during a joining ceremony with the Afghan government in Herat, Afghanistan on Dec. 28, 2011." (Hoshang Hashimi/Associated Press)

What do I see? I see the new squeaky clean Taliban poster boy. Suddenly the image being marketed and sold is that of a reformed Taliban fighter who ... anyhow, no scruffy there. Sanitized version for the gullible Western masses?  His headcloth is so white it shimmers in the sunshine....

The Taliban has announced reaching a preliminary agreement with Qatar to open a liaison office in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

In a statement on Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the office would conduct negotiations with the international community.

Right now, having a strong presence in Afghanistan, we still want to have a political office for negotiations," Mujahid said.

"In this regard, we have started preliminary talks and we have reached a preliminary understanding with relevant sides, including the government of Qatar, to have a political office for negotiations with the international community," he added.

Last week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed under pressure to a US proposal to let the militants establish an office outside Afghanistan.
The Afghan president strongly rejected the idea previously, saying that he was not consulted with over the potential venue of a Taliban office.

In December, the Afghan government recalled its Ambassador to Qatar Khalid Ahmad Zakaria to protest at Doha for "secretly negotiating" with the US and Germany over the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar.

The deal comes after ten years of the US-led war on Afghanistan, which was initially said to be aimed at toppling the Taliban regime.

The 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan has claimed numerous civilian lives and destroyed the country's infrastructure.