Massouda Jalal, The Wall Street Journal (USA)
Seeking to negotiate with an implacable enemy could be seen either as foolish or foresighted. The West obviously sees a deal with the Taliban as essential to its transition, and therefore a pragmatic step. But this faith in negotiations appears to be based on the belief that there exist "moderate" elements of the Taliban, and that they can be coaxed toward supporting constitutional democracy. At one point, Taliban representatives had even been expected to participate in next week's conference. I understand the sense of weariness that many Western politicians feel about Afghanistan, but their willingness to compromise with the Taliban is shortsighted. There is no such thing as a moderate Taliban, as most Afghans who remember the 1990s can attest. If Western political leaders had lived through the savagery themselves, and experienced the fear and the hopelessness of the Taliban's rule, I imagine they would be somewhat less naïve.