December 28, 2007 (LPAC)--The United States supports "serious reconciliation" with elements of the Taliban, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan William Wood announced yesterday in Kabul. It was for just such "reconciliation" negotiations that two UN and EU officials were deported from Afghanistan by the Kabul government of President Hamid Karzai, with reports that British MI-6 operatives were also meeting with the Taliban.

Wood's only stipulation is that the Taliban fighters should not be connected to al-Qaeda. Wood said the U.S. is in favor of a "serious reconciliation program with those elements of the Taliban who are prepared to accept the constitution and the authority of the elected government" of President Hamid Karzai, Associated Press quoted him saying at a Kabul news conference. "The only place where we have concern would be the members of the Taliban with close connection to al-Qaeda, the reason being that al-Qaeda is an international threat, it is a global threat and we don't believe that there should be separate peaces with al-Qaeda."

Wood also said that he is confident that the two expelled officials--EU acting mission head Michael Semple and UN mission officer Mervyn Patterson--were acting with good intentions, and that their expulsion seems to be the result of a "misunderstanding." Wood also said that the offensive against the Taliban has killed so many of their leaders, that foreign fighters are now being brought into Afghanistan.