Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's simple statement of fact finally acknowledges what Peace Action and other opponents to the war in Afghanistan have been saying all along. Sitting down and talking with your adversary is not weakness. Its smart and can bring the bloodshed to an end.
Talks should have taken place before President Obama decided to commit tens of thousands of US troops to expand the fighting. Escalation only sinks us deeper in the quagmire.
While there's still a long way to go before a negotiated settlement is reached, successful talks could lead to a cease fire in the interim, and, finally, an end to the war. They offer the first real hope for ending the US military footprint in Afghanistan.
Make no mistake, our work - yours and mine - has paid off. We have given the American people an alternative to being cheerleaders for a failed policy, and they have embraced it. The growing opposition to the war has moved the Obama administration from its initial tepid statements about Karzai's initiative to a more positive and helpful role - including helping Taliban leaders travel safely to Kabul and participate in the talks.
We need to stay on this at this critical moment. Successful talks will insure the Karzai government doesn't sell out their own people, stealing elections and what little wealth the nation has right up to the instant he's deposed.
We need to make sure the US is an honest broker and the people of Afghanistan will not have to sacrifice their human rights in exchange for an end to the violence and a modicum of stability.
Peace Action has opposed this war from the get-go. We've promoted alternatives to endless war, opposed supplemental budget requests that were nothing more than blank checks for a failed policy and we - you and I - have been proved right time after time.
