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(Reuters) - A top Afghan peace negotiator said he was cautiously optimistic about prospects for reconciliation with the Taliban and that all sides now realized a military solution to the war was not possible.

Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai also told Reuters that the Kabul government hoped to transform the Afghan Taliban, who have proved resilient after more than a decade of war against U.S.-led NATO and Afghan troops, into a political movement.

He predicted the highly lethal Haqqani militant network, the most experienced at guerrilla warfare, would join the peace process if the Afghan Taliban started formal talks.

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My Comment: I do sense that a tipping point has been reached .... that the Taliban simply do not have the resources to come back to power. But .... like Iraq .... even if a peace agreement is reached, I do see sectarian violence becoming a daily occurrence in Afghanistan .... specifically in the Pashtun areas.

KABUL (Reuters) - Pakistan is genuine about backing the nascent Afghan peace process and shares the Kabul government's goal of transforming the Taliban insurgency into a political movement, a senior Afghan government official told Reuters.

"They have told us that they share the vision contained in our roadmap which is basically to transform the Taliban from a military entity into a political entity to enable them to take part in the Afghan political process and peacefully seek power like any other political entity in Afghanistan, he said.

"This is the vision that they share."

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My Comment: I am deeply skeptical that they will succeed. Aside from the sectarian and pathological make-up of the Taliban, they are also a group that follows the most radical form of Islam .... this is why they supported Al Qaeda by providing safe havens when they were in power .... and this is why they cannot compromise on their principles .... because to do so would admit defeat. What are their principles .... Wikipedia has an excellent description of what life under the Taliban was like.
So .... bottom line .... how can you negotiate with crazy?

KABUL, Afghanistan — After years of deriding Afghanistan’s government and army as corrupt tools of Western occupiers, the Taliban have begun publicly airing a softer vision for the country’s future, with senior insurgent leaders saying the militants are willing to govern alongside other Afghan factions and even to adopt the current American-financed army as their own.

That message was delivered over the past few days by Taliban envoys during private meetings with Afghan officials and opposition politicians near Paris, according to officials close to the talks, and the softer approach has been echoed in recent interviews with Taliban figures loyal to the group’s nominal leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar. Together, it is the furthest that the Taliban’s senior leadership has gone to express in some official way that the group would be willing to operate as a mainstream Afghan political faction rather than aiming to return as conquering rulers after the end of the NATO combat mission in 2014.

But with the Taliban there are always questions.

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Afghan Factions Meet in France As NATO Prepares Withdrawal -- Atlantic Sentinel
Afghan government, Taliban in talks -- UPI
Taliban Unveil Political Plan -- Wall Street Journal
Taliban call for new Afghanistan constitution -- AFP
Taliban seek new Afghan constitution to join peace process -- Khaama Press
Afghan Taliban call for new constitution -- Business Recorder
US hails talks between Kabul, Taliban -- Dawn

My Comment: I am not optimistic with these talks. The Taliban believe that they are the legitimate government of Afghanistan .... and that the constitution should embrace their radical version of Islam. As to what everyone else is thinking .... well .... from their point of view that is too bad.