Cooperate with the Taliban

Moderate supporters of the insurgent Taliban could indeed be persuaded of the advantages of cooperation with the Afghan government, the daily Die Presse writes: "The Taliban and al-Qaida are not inseparable Siamese twins; what binds them together is a symbiotic relationship. What benefits one also benefits the other. If the moderate Taliban elements can now be persuaded of the merits of cooperating with the government in Kabul, this would be to al-Qaida's detriment - it would be the end of the symbiosis. No one should succumb to the illusion that you can negotiate with the hardcore elements of the Taliban. But trying to splinter off the moderate elements could work. The minimal demand: that the Taliban cut off their bond with al-Qaida. Time is pressing: In autumn 2011 ten years will have passed since the US troops first left their boot prints on Afghan territory. The Soviet Union's troops were forced to make a humiliating withdrawal after nine years."

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