Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Look who’s talking … to the Taliban!

Ahmed Rashid has long been the best writer on the war in Afghanistan. Here is an interesting line from a new column he wrote for the BBC. According to my last count and information, diplomats or intelligence agents from Britain, Norway and Germany as well as several humanitarian agencies such as the United Nations and ...

STR/AFP/Getty Images
STR/AFP/Getty Images
STR/AFP/Getty Images

Ahmed Rashid has long been the best writer on the war in Afghanistan. Here is an interesting line from a new column he wrote for the BBC.

Ahmed Rashid has long been the best writer on the war in Afghanistan. Here is an interesting line from a new column he wrote for the BBC.

According to my last count and information, diplomats or intelligence agents from Britain, Norway and Germany as well as several humanitarian agencies such as the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have met with Taliban officials either in Pakistan or Afghanistan over the past 12 months.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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