When Banjamin Franklin said, "There was never a good war or a bad peace," he was reflecting an ideal situation when peace is loved and conflict is hated. In contemporary world, peace is not an absolute end; it is a variable depending on certain circumstances and value systems. If peace was never bad, there could have been no violence and war, and people would adhere to peaceful means for all political, military, economic and even intercontinental causes. As the outbreak of conflict depends on various factors, conflict resolution depends primarily on changing the conflict concept, attitudes and behavior.
Afghanistan manifests characteristics of post-conflict and "war zone" state where reconstruction efforts and active armed struggle have simultaneous interaction and confrontation. Afghan government has formed the High Peace Council, and has recently accepted the creation of a "political office" for the Taliban in Qatar.
The government has long complained that there was not significant progress in talks with Talibanas the militants do not have concrete location to approach. Public sensitivity to negotiation with Taliban is high, therefore, the government has tried to illustrate that the new office is only to facilitate the process with no political recognition for it.
The parties in conflict – Afghan government, the Taliban and US- have expressed conflicting positions and political observations about the office and future of talks. Some Taliban members confirmed that there have been talks with the US government while the notorious spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, denied having approval from the group's leader, Mullah Omar.
Vice-President Biden's remark that Taliban is not US's enemy has created deep concerns and speculations in Afghanistan confirming the street rumors that the country is suffering from a dirty intelligence and political game and the US is not serious to combat terrorism and its annoying ideology.
In its part, Afghan government has failed to present a unified position towards the peace struggle. In official sense, the government favors any initiative that could end the current conflict, but some government spokesmen have warned that if the process is not led by Afghans, the government will switch out of it.
Experiences from post-conflict countries and conflict resolution theories support that a meaningful resolution is possible only when all parties agree to negotiate the "structural differences" and demonstrate commitment to negotiation even if it involves some sort of compromise.
Unfortunately, the reality in Afghanistan is different, Taliban have never renounced the aspiration for its own model of Islamic regime which is not compatible with democratic values. It is very simplistic to view Taliban as a dissident political group or a portion of Afghan society that is excluded from power for certain considerations.
Taliban come from a rigid ideology that is incompatible with what Afghans want. Political differences exist anywhere and ideological clash and intolerance leads to violence and war. After collapse, Taliban are enjoying great moments in its history.
The unconditional peace offers, financial incentives, release of its members from prisons, appointment in senior government positions and now a political office in Qatar are great rewards that can bring political recognition to the Taliban and its ideology.
The US has regretted for complete exclusion of Taliban from interim administration and following process, and this time it needs to avoid the mistake of ignoring big majority of Afghans and their opinions about the peace process. No one is against a genuine and real peace in which all parties come to the peace table with legitimate cause, but everyone should refuse ideologies that support suicide, terror and violence.