At some point, when the forces aligned against the Taliban have bloodied them enough, we will need to sit down and discuss peaceful co-exitence. I know that is not the Taliban or Al Qaeda way now – they strive for world domination. So did Germany and Japan at one time. At some point the idea sours on the people. So I am hopeful that efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan are moving towards common solutions to the terrorism problemL

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said he wants to hold a jirga (council) of Pashtun tribes from Pakistan and Afghanistan to end Taleban violence.

The two countries disagree on how to fight the Taleban – mostly drawn from the Pashtun tribes- on their border.

Mr Karzai said he expected both he and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to attend the meeting by the year-end.

…

Mr Karzai said the jirga would attempt to revive Pashtun civil society on both sides of the border in order to combat what he called the growing Talebanisation of the region.

“The traditional secular Pashtun leadership of Pakistan has been undermined systematically and violently,” said Mr Karzai.

“The killing of 150 Pashtun leaders in North Waziristan is a clear indication of that. This can only stop if we support civil society,” he said.

If the Pashtun can be enticed to find different path, one that shuns the violence and extremism of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, then one of the remaining hotpots for terrorism will begin to cool. This is of course a much preferrable option than continued fighting. It’s what a Democrat might call a ‘new direction’. Thankfully Karzai and Musharraf are doing more then mumbling sound bites without any content to them.