AFTER SIX months of intransigence and delay, the Taliban and Afghan government leaders at last sat down together on September 12th in Doha, the capital of Qatar, to seek an agreement on how to run their country. An accord in February between America and the Taliban mainly concerned the promised withdrawal of American troops by next May, as long as the Taliban guarantees not to harbour terrorists like al-Qaeda.The Afghan government was not part of that deal. The talks that have just begun will focus on the shape of the country once the Americans have gone. Grievance and bloodshed have mounted over the four decades since a coup overthrew the monarchy in 1978. Millions have been displaced and hundreds of thousands killed. The meddling of foreign powers has made matters much worse. "The current conflict has no winner through war and military means," said Abdullah Abdullah (pictured), the head, in effect, of the government's negotiating team. "But there will be no loser if this crisis is resolved politically and peacefully through submission to the will of the people."
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