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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    On-Again, Off-Again Talks with the Taliban

    Efforts to end America's 12-year war in Afghanistan are on shakier ground than ever.  When the US arranged talks in Qatar between the Taliban and Afghanistan's current government, President Obama called it "an important first step in reconciliation."

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    Efforts to end America's 12-year war in Afghanistan are on shakier ground than ever. When the US arranged talks in Qatar between the Taliban and Afghanistan's current government, President Obama called it "an important first step in reconciliation." Then the Taliban opened an office in Qatar called, "The Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," the name they used when they ruled the country. President Karzai said he would not attend after the Taliban started behaving like a former government with plans to return to power. Are the Taliban running out the clock, taking advantage of President Obama's announced plan to withdraw troops by 2015? How much are the conflicting agendas of Pakistan and India adding to the diplomatic confusion? We hear a variety of opinions.

    The full episode

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    On-Again, Off-Again Talks with the Taliban
    1. 0:00On-Again, Off-Again Talks with the TalibanYou’re reading this
    2. 41:28White House in a Bind on Snowden's Travel
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Kerry Cavanaugh

      editorial writer at the Los Angeles Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Anna Scott

      Former KCRW Housing and Homelessness Reporter

    • KCRW placeholder

      Ahmed Rashid

      Pakistani journalist

    • KCRW placeholder

      Alissa Johannsen Rubin

      New York Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Chayes

      Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    1 of 2
    On-Again, Off-Again Talks with the Taliban
    1. 0:00On-Again, Off-Again Talks with the TalibanYou’re reading this
    2. 41:28White House in a Bind on Snowden's Travel
    Back to To the Point