Afghanistan: no holds barred: If sustainable peace is to be achieved, negotiations must be open to all

The withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan is set for December 2014. The legacy of the most recent intervention in that country is yet to be determined and may not be clear until many years from now. However, the nature of negotiations during this final year of armed security assistance and in subsequent years will dictate the likelihood of a sustainable peace being achieved. Yet opposition to such negotiations stemming from a misunderstanding of the negotiating parties threatens to curtail such possibilities.