Karzai Announces Peace Talks with Taliban

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http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Karzai-US-is-Talking-to-Taliban-124125629.html

Karzai Announces Peace Talks with Taliban

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the United States and other foreign powers are holding talks with the Taliban aimed at ending the nearly decade-long war.

Karzai's announcement Saturday to reporters in Kabul is thought to be the first official comment on U.S. involvement in such negotiations. However, the U.S. Embassy declined to comment.

The United States is set to start withdrawing combat troops from Afghanistan in the coming weeks. U.S. President Barack Obama already has met with his top commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, to discuss plans for the drawdown, but so far, he has not announced how many troops initially will leave the country.

Afghan security forces are slated to take control of all security operations by 2014. Afghan and coalition forces continue to face stiff resistance in the Taliban's southern strongholds, as well as an influx of foreign fighters in the eastern part of the country. The coalition announced that one service member died following an insurgent attack Saturday in eastern Afghanistan.