Newly inaugurated Afghan president Hamid Kharzai is considering offering an amnesty to the majority of Taliban fighters. Some Taliban appear to be tired of fighting and may be willing to accept the offer of amnesty if they are allowed to return to their families and their land. In an interview with the CSMonitor, two Akhund tribesmen say that they have had enough. They now view the leadership of Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden as an effort to consolidate their own power rather than as a means to lead a holy war to protect Muslim lands. Of course, there are other Taliban that follow Omar and bin Laden without question and believe it is their duty to insure that Afghanistan has an all-Muslim government.
The question becomes whether an amnesty for these 'moderate Taliban' will offer a way for Kharzai to consolidate his leadership of Afghanistan, or whether it will cause a deeper split between the Pashtuns and Tajiks. I imagine that fewer eyes will be on the outcome of these events than on the elections in Iraq, but the events in Afghanistan may be a better indicator of the eventual outcome of the 'War on Terrorism' than any events in Iraq.
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