The Obama administration is gingerly approaching reconciliation moves in Afghanistan, hoping to see some momentum from its latest military offensive before pushing hard for peace talks with Taliban leaders. While backing Afghan-led efforts to integrate lower-level fighters, there is little appetite to reconcile senior leaders until NATO forces show progress in the nearly two-week-old offensive in Marjah, a Taliban stronghold in Helmand province. The US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said reconciliation needed to go hand-in-hand with security success. “Discussions on a political level are going to reflect battlefield realities,” he told Reuters late Wednesday. Experts say Washington wants NATO to gain the upper hand, putting pressure on Taliban leaders to negotiate rather than wait it out until a vacuum is left after foreign forces leave. For now, US attention is on Marjah, seen as a test case for President Barack Obama's new strategy in Afghanistan, which includes sending in an additional 30,000 troops. “It's a little early to talk about the specifics of a reconciliation process. We are right now in the beginning of a very serious military program” said Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew. The main focus of the United States has been in the re-integration of Taliban foot soldiers, with offers of jobs and other support in exchange for putting down their arms. For senior Taliban leaders, it has put down “red lines”, insisting key figures like Taliban chief Mullah Omar meet three conditions – renounce violence, sever ties with Al-Qaeda and abide by the Afghan constitution, including women's rights. “There certainly are some who we think are eligible to participate in a political process. We also think that there are others – Mullah Omar would be a good example of those – that we think are not redeemable,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. Talk is swirling about Islamabad's potential role in any reconciliation effort following the arrest in recent weeks in Pakistan of the Afghan Taliban's military commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Experts have questioned the timing of Mullah Baradar's arrest in a joint US-Pakistani raid in Karachi and whether this might indicate some movement in reconciliation efforts, which are complicated by the different factions within the Taliban even if the captured leader cooperates. Holbrooke dismissed as “totally speculative” suggestions there were links between the arrest and reconciliation. But analysts say the fact he is off the battlefield and being held by Pakistan means he could be useful in any talks and give Islamabad not only information but some leverage as it seeks a role in negotiations with its neighbor. US officials so far have been lukewarm about Pakistan's overtures to help with Taliban mediation, agreeing Islamabad is a player but sidestepping questions over how involved Washington wants its ally to be. Holbrooke said any efforts at reconciliation had to be led by Afghanistan, but that there were several players with security interests in the neighborhood, including Pakistan. Afghanistan expert Ashley Tellis said while Washington wanted reconciliation to come at the tail-end of a military mission, Pakistan was pushing for it to happen now. The Pakistanis, he said, were mindful of US pledges to start withdrawing their forces from Afghanistan from July 2011 and Islamabad wanted to be part of the “end game” as it jostled for regional power against chief rival India. “They are absolutely convinced that the clock is ticking for a US departure and they want to shape this to their advantage,” said Tellis from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think-tank. Pakistan also has an important role to play because of its history with the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 1990s and acquiescence in allowing insurgents to have safe haven in the border areas from where they launch attacks into Afghanistan. “Pakistan has the potential to be a very constructive player because of their influence over these groups,” said Alex Thier of the US Institute of Peace. “One element that would force the Taliban to the negotiating table is if they lost their sanctuary in Pakistan,” he added. Afghan President Hamid Karzai used an international conference in London last month to get Western backing for reconciliation efforts with the Taliban, which has repeatedly turned down his offers until foreign forces leave. However, there have been some tentative “talks about talks”, including in the Maldives last month between Taliban
