As reported by the London Telegraph, new U.S. special envoy Marc Grossman, "Mr. Appeasement," ...err, "Mr Reconciliation," is busy completing the diplomatic side of our miserably failed COIN strategy which will deliver Afghanistan to the Taliban. A Western official in Kabul confirmed the United States was in direct contact with the Taliban following a sea change in American policy this year.  Marc Grossman, the replacement for special envoy Richard Holbrooke, has been nicknamed "Mr. Reconciliation" and told to focus efforts on trying to facilitate a political deal which would ease a US exit. "Those are no longer preconditions, they are being seen as negotiated outcomes," said the Western official. In February, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, said the US would no longer insist on preconditions such as the need for the Taliban to renounce al-Qaeda and accept the Afghan constitution. Such declarations could be made after a deal had...(Read Full Post)