美國國防部長馬蒂斯突訪喀布爾

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says small factions of Taliban forces fighting the U.S.-backed Afghan government forces have expressed an interest in negotiating an end to the 16-year war.

Mattis made the suggestion Tuesday before arriving in Kabul on an unannounced visit to discuss President Ashraf Ghani's plan to open peace talks with the Taliban. The former Marine general said it "may be a bridge too far" to expect the Islamic insurgent force to sit down at the negotiating table "in one fell swoop."

The Taliban has previously offered to hold talks on a possible peace agreement, but only directly with the United States, which Mattis rejects. "We want the Afghans to lead and provide the substance to the reconciliation effort," he told reporters.

Mattis said the ultimate victory in Afghanistan will be a "political reconciliation" between Kabul and the Taliban, with a country capable of handling its own security.美國國防部長吉姆·馬蒂斯說，跟得到美國支持的阿富汗政府軍作戰的塔利班部隊中的小派系表示有興趣談判以結束16年的戰爭。

馬蒂斯星期二做出上述表示。之前，馬蒂斯突然訪問喀布爾，與阿富汗總統加尼討論關於跟塔利班開始和談的計劃。這位前海軍陸戰隊將軍表示，現在就預計伊斯蘭反叛武裝會“馬上”坐下來談判可能“有些不切實際”。

塔利班以前曾提出爲可能達成的和平協議舉行談判，但是隻跟美國直接談，這個提議被馬蒂斯拒絕。馬蒂斯對記者說，我們想讓阿富汗方面主導談判並提供和解努力所需的內容。

馬蒂斯說，阿富汗的最終勝利是喀布爾和塔利班之間的“政治和解”，證明這個國家有能力處理自己的安全問題。