In 2014, American troops will pull out of Afghanistan after 12 years. Ahead of this deadline, the US plans to sit at a negotiating table with the Islamic insurgents it has been fighting. These talks between the US, Afghanistan, and the Taliban were due to get underway this week, but have been delayed by a diplomatic row over the Taliban’s new office in Qatar.
The Islamic fundamentalists, who were in government in Afghanistan from 1996 until the US invasion in 2001, opened their office on Tuesday. This was the same day that Nato handed over security for the whole of Afghanistan to the Afghan government for the first time since the Taliban were ousted.
Plans to open the Taliban office had been in motion since 2010, when US officials indicated that it would be the single biggest step forward for peace talks. The office in Qatar was supposed to give Afghan and western officials a location to openly and easily contact legitimate Taliban negotiators. The opening was delayed partly by the concerns of Afghan president Hamid Karzai, who wanted assurances that it could not be used for recruitment, fundraising, and making contacts with other countries that could prolong the conflict. He has visited the Gulf state twice this year, most recently this month. Qatar had reportedly agreed that the office would be used only for peace talks.
Yet when it finally did open, it was with a wave of controversy. The Taliban flag was hoisted, and the office was titled “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, the name that they used while running the country. Kabul expressed “serious displeasure” and Karzai said that he would boycott talks. “The manner in which the office was established, and the name of the Taliban office, is unacceptable to us,” said an Afghan official. John Kerry, the US Secretary of State was forced to intervene, and the name has been changed to the “Bureau of Peace Talks”.
The fact of a Taliban office opening at all has prompted a proliferation of jokes on social media, and spoof online articles about its layout – but there is a serious point here about the diplomatic relations between the Taliban, Qatar, the US, and Afghanistan, and about the small Gulf state’s role in mediating the conflict.
As mentioned, the opening of a Taliban office has long been considered an important step forward for peace talks. At the time the plans were first set in motion, in 2010, it was reported that Afghan officials would have preferred this Taliban mission to be based in Saudi Arabia or Turkey. They complained to the media that they had not been formally notified by Qatar. Ultimately, however, Karzai agreed to the Gulf state being the site.
In the intervening three years, with little progress on the peace talks, the presence of senior Taliban officials has been something of an embarrassment for the Qatari government. In April this year, the New York Times ran a report about these high-ranking Taliban officials – numbering eight or more. An Afghan diplomat was quoted as saying: “They are just living here enjoying the air-conditioning, driving luxury cars, eating and making babies. It’s all they can do; they have no work to do.”
Beyond acknowledgement that they would be the host of official peace talks, the Qatari government has barely referred to the Taliban presence in the country, while the state-controlled press also avoids the subject. The Taliban officials present in the country have avoided public appearances or statements – a condition of their stay.
The culmination of this long wait was the opening of the office on Tuesday. Of course, this was not just important to the US, which wants a way to easily contact legitimate peace negotiators. It has also been seen as an important move by the Taliban itself, which craves public legitimacy. The opening of its first international office shows that it is a political organisation rather than just a violent militant group. For this reason, it has been seen as a big success. All along, this extra legitimacy for the Taliban has been one of Karzai’s main concerns.
For Qatar, the latest incident does not indicate any particular sympathy for the Taliban. Rather, it is the natural continuation of its active foreign policy, stretching back over the last decade. The small state has sought a role in mediating conflict not just in Afghanistan, but Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. It attempts to position itself as a disinterested mediator, trusted by all parties. However, as the unfortunate handling of the Taliban office opening shows, retaining the trust of all sides can be a tough call. If Qatar can at least be tolerated by all sides here – including Karzai’s government – then there is still hope that peace talks can go ahead.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.