Clinton: Taliban talks unpleasant but necessary
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is defending the Obama administration's outreach to the Taliban as unpleasant but necessary to bring stability and security to Afghanistan as the US begins to withdraw troops from the country.
Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday that true peace cannot be achieved in Afghanistan without reconciling the fractured elements of its society. She said US officials were involved in "very preliminary" contacts with Taliban members. But she stressed that Washington would not deal with extremists who are unwilling to break their ties with al-Qaeda and to support the Afghan constitution, including its provisions for respecting the rights of women and minorities. (AP)
