Taliban looking for a hudna (truce)?

CBS News:

Six years after the U.S. military stormed into Afghanistan and easily swept aside the country's Taliban leadership, the militant Muslim group appears to be angling for a return to the world of politics.

A large proportion of the Taliban's 30-member Supreme Council is in favor of negotiations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government. They feel the time is right for a shift in the organization's primary goal - from endless war with U.S. and Afghan forces, to legitimized political power in large sections of the country.

President Karzai said Sunday that his administration was willing to negotiate with Taliban leaders, and for the first time since they were ousted from Kabul, Taliban leaders have responded favorably, albeit guardedly, to the offer.

Speaking to CBS News Monday via satellite phone, Taliban Spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said if Karzai's regime offers a face to face meeting, "we are ready to talk.

Ahmadi called Karzai's statement "political", but said they would "think about any serious offer for dialogue from the government in light of the principles of Islam and national interests of the country."

In turn, Karzai's spokesman told the Associated Press Tuesday: "We heard the Taliban announcement through the media. We are investigating it."

He said Taliban members who approached the government with a true desire to find a "solution for peace" would not be arrested.

Meanwhile a top Taliban commander, one of the 30 members of the Supreme Council, tells CBS News that most of the members believe the group is in a "strong position" to negotiate a deal that would see them take on administrative control of several provinces in southern and southeastern Afghanistan.

The commander, who spoke to CBS on the condition that he not be named, said it was, "the right time to consider dialogue" with Karzai.

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The Taliban have been getting their but kicked for about two years now and have lost many of their commanders. My guess is they would like to make a deal to get the US and NATO out of Afghanistan so they can then try to take over the government again. The chances that they are willing to negotiate a permanent end to hostilities is remote. They have recently had to resort to kidnapping and extortion to keep their movement viable. Their old tactics of ambushing government or US forces has been punishing for them. In one recent ambush 100 Taliban were killed with one friendly KIA. Their time warn tactic of claiming all casualties are civilians has also had less resonance lately.