There has been word of the United States finally bringing its on-and-off efforts to kick-start an Afghan peace process beyond merely pompous talk.
Last Friday, the US and the Taliban agreed to a week-long reduction of violence – effectively a beta test of the group's ability to maintain a lasting peace, to be followed by a phased drawdown of most of the nearly 13,000 troops the United States still deploys in Afghanistan.
The Taliban said on Monday that it expects to sign a peace deal with the United States by the end of the month – the first step to end the 18-year war – to be accompanied by an exchange of thousands of detainees held by the US-led coalition, the Afghan government, and the militants.
The US-Taliban peace process is as old as the Afghan war itself. The United States invaded Afghanistan, ruled by the extremist Islamic movement at the time, for sheltering then al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was identified as the main mastermind behind the 9/11 terror attacks.
The Taliban initially refused to turn bin Laden over to the US, but offered to try him in Afghanistan under Islamic law shortly before the US invasion. They also pledged to release eight Western aid workers, including two Americans, who had been accused of trying to convert Afghans to Christianity, if the US halted the bombing of Afghanistan. George W. Bush rejected both offers and ordered the invasion the following day.
The Bush administration opposed any dialogue with the Taliban, and…
