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June 20, 2011

Gates Acknowledges U.S. in Preliminary Talks With Taliban 
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In news from Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has
acknowledged for the first time that the United States has been involved
in preliminary talks with the Taliban to seek a political solution to
the nearly 10-year-old war. Despite the start of the talks, Gates warned
against a fast draw down of U.S. troops.

	
		
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates: "My own view is that real
reconciliation talks are not likely to be able to make any substantive
headway until at least this winter. I think that the Taliban have to
feel themselves under military pressure, and begin to believe that they
can't win before they're willing to have a serious conversation."

	


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