Recent reports from Afghanistan claimed the Taliban are willing to negotiate with the Afghan government and NATO forces. A report in Iran's Press TV said Mullah Omar offered a seven point plan to end the insurgency, which was sent to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. The plan, according to the news outlet, called for a phased withdrawal of NATO forces, power-sharing with the Afghan government, integration of Taliban forces into the Afghan Army, and immunity for Taliban fighters.
While this all looks good on paper, Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban has flatly rejected reports that negotiations are underway.
"The fact is that the Islamic Emirates has neither held any negotiations in Saudi Arabia or in the United Arab Emirates and neither anywhere else," the Taliban's Website quoted Omar as saying in a statement.
"I neither have sent any letter addressed to Saudi... King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, or to the opposite side (Afghan government) and neither have (I) received any message from them."
The statement added that whatever was being said on this issue was false and part of a propaganda campaign by vested interests.
On the last point, Omar is correct. There has been a concerted effort by ex-Taliban officials to claim the Taliban is willing to negotiate. And it is an open secret that NATO is searching for a way to split the Taliban from al Qaeda, so there should be little doubt these claims are being promoted by Western intelligence services.
While splitting the Taliban from al Qaeda would aid in the fight in Afghanistan, the problem is that such propaganda isn't isolated to the combatants in Afghanistan. The "Taliban is willing to negotiate" meme has taken hold among western elites, and this belief can lead to bad policy decisions. NATO countries looking for a reason to disengage from Afghanistan will push negotiations that will lead nowhere.
