Advance the Political Dialogue on Afghan Peace

The withdrawal of foreign troops is not the end of the battle. Achieving peace seems unlikely without conciliation between the conflicting parties.

The departure of foreign forces from Afghanistan — of which the U.S. troops make up the majority — has begun. The transfer of security enforcement to and the stop to military stationing in Afghanistan are to be completed by the end of 2014.

At the same time, a political dialogue — though it is limited — has started between the Taliban (an anti-governmental militia group), the United States and the Karzai administration.

Thomas Pickering, the former undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, who, through a think tank, has proposed the cooperative dialogue with Taliban, visited Japan and asked Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto to collaborate to reach conciliation.

An important turning point has arrived to the war, which has lasted for over a decade. Japan must carefully watch the progress of the dialogue and help achieve peace.

The effort to normalize peace through the use of force has failed. Despite nationwide military campaigns, the Taliban occupies rural areas and continues suicide attacks on U.N. facilities and the like.

There is no way but through a political dialogue which will lead to an end to this war.

Amid the talks, direct communication between Taliban and the United States, hosted by Germany, currently gathers attention. Since last year, a few meetings have taken place secretly.

Germany held a multilateral conference in Bonn in December 2001, right after the collapse of the Taliban administration. The country has decided to hold another conference in December, just a decade after the last. If the Taliban’s attendance is attained, it will make for a crucial moment towards peace.

Progress on trust-building between the Taliban and the Karzai administration is also hoped for. It is necessary to address the issues of rehabilitating former Taliban soldiers and strengthening communicative pipelines between the leaders of each side.

However, advancing dialogue is not easy.

The United States, which assassinated Osama bin Laden, the leader of the international terrorist organization al-Qaida, is asking the Taliban to separate from al-Qaida and to stop committing violence. Consistency and patience are required in finding common ground with the Taliban, which wants an immediate withdrawal of foreign forces.

Also, progress cannot be made without Pakistani and Iranian support.

Japan’s help towards the recovery of Afghanistan after conciliation is reached will be important in deepening the U.S.-Japan alliance. It has been almost a decade since Japan hosted the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan.

Facing the aftermath of the massive quake and political difficulties, the Japanese tend to turn their eyes inward. After the disaster, however, donations were made even from impoverished people in Afghanistan. Responses to such loving kindness and hopes for peace are desired.