Karzai Seeks Talks With Taliban

After bus attack, he offers to give group a spot in government
By Sean McManus,  Newser User
Posted Sep 29, 2007 11:09 AM CDT
Karzai Seeks Talks With Taliban
An Afghan National army soldier stands near a destroyed army bus after an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007. A suicide bomber wearing an Afghan army uniform set off a huge explosion early Saturday while trying to board a military bus, killing 27 soldiers and wounding 21, officials...   (Associated Press)

Hours after a Taliban suicide bomber blew up a bus and killed 30 people in Kabul, Afghan leader Hamid Karzai offered to meet with the group's leaders and give them a position in government, the Associated Press reports. "Why are you destroying the country?" Karzai asked the group's leaders. The attack was the second-deadliest in Kabul since 2001.

Karzai has been attempting to reach out to the Taliban frequently of late. Specifically, he has called for meetings with Mullah Omar, a former prime minister, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a factional warlord leader. “If I find their address, there is no need for them to come to me, I'll personally go there and get in touch with them,” he said. (More Taliban stories.)

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