An odd article, especially as it coincides with the appearance in London of an ex-Taliban minister, Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef, for talks.

The deal that Zaeef is thought to have discussed with Foreign Office officials is this: in return for power in parts of southern Afghanistan, the Taliban would accept the authority of the Kabul government and expel al-Qaeda and its jihadist affiliates.
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...y-to-fail.html

For once a couple of the comments are worth reading - those by permare.