U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Frank A. Grippe, command senior enlisted leader for U.S. Central Command, speaks with soldiers on a foot patrol in the Panjwai district of southern Afghanistan, Sept. 22, 2012. Grippe visited the soldiers as part of his visit to Regional Command South. The soldiers are assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Matt Young
U.S. Abandoning Hopes for Taliban Peace Deal -- New York Times
KABUL, Afghanistan — With the surge of American troops over and the Taliban still a potent threat, American generals and civilian officials acknowledge that they have all but written off what was once one of the cornerstones of their strategy to end the war here: battering the Taliban into a peace deal.
The once ambitious American plans for ending the war are now being replaced by the far more modest goal of setting the stage for the Afghans to work out a deal among themselves in the years after most Western forces depart, and to ensure Pakistan is on board with any eventual settlement. Military and diplomatic officials here and in Washington said that despite attempts to engage directly with Taliban leaders this year, they now expect that any significant progress will come only after 2014, once the bulk of NATO troops have left.
“I don’t see it happening in the next couple years,” said a senior coalition officer. He and a number of other officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the effort to open talks.
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Update: U.S.-Taliban Peace Deal Unlikely in Afghanistan -- National Journal
My Comment: This analysis is right .... and with the Taliban now seeing US forces withdraw .... I am sure that among the Taliban leadership any thought of joining the "peace process" has simply disappeared.
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