By Andrew P. Napolitano
The president's men trash the Constitution to pursue antagonists
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is pushing Pakistan to release more Taliban prisoners, including the group's deputy leader, in a move aimed at reviving peace talks with the militants, despite concern within his own administration that the battle-hardened Islamists could rejoin a decadelong insurgency that seeks to topple the government in Kabul.
Western officials and analysts say U.S. and U.N. pressure is failing to persuade Pakistan to cut its ties to a terrorist network whose attacks coalition forces fear could complicate the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
The Haqqani Network, a group of Pakistan-based terrorists that has killed coalition troops in Afghanistan, is willing to participate in peace talks with the U.S. as long as the Afghan Taliban's top leader approves, according to a senior commander in the group.
Taliban militants in Afghanistan attacked an area near the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire on Tuesday — two days after the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Continued support from Pakistan's military and intelligence agency for a major Islamic terrorist network is hamstringing the Obama administration's efforts to withdraw U.S. troops from neighboring Afghanistan, according to Western officials and analysts.
The Obama administration will identify Pakistan's continuing support for terrorist havens and the absence of good governance in Afghanistan as key factors that are undermining U.S. and coalition efforts in Afghanistan.
The mystery surrounding Osama bin Laden's whereabouts may finally be solved.
“Without strict monitoring or oversight, I think it’s very likely that the majority of the released prisoners will rejoin the insurgency,” said Jeffrey Dressler, a senior research analyst who leads the Afghanistan and Pakistan team at the Institute for the Study of War.
Afghan President Karzai wants Taliban out of prison, in talks →
