Moderate Taliban want peace, says outgoing US ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker. He said that there are elements within the Taliban that support the peace process, despite a rash of this summer's suicide bombings. He also said that he did not think the departure of foreign troops in 2014 will plunge another civil war. - NY Daily News

Moderate Taliban want peace, says outgoing US ambassador to Afghanistan - NY Daily News: "Afghanistan has a history of conflict between warring ethnic factions. Pashtuns, who predominantly make up the Taliban, are the majority ethnic group in the country and have strongholds in the south. Minority factions, including the Hazaras, Uzbeks and Tajiks, are more firmly rooted in the north. Members of all the groups are part of the Afghan security forces, but some fear without the presence of international troops, the nation and its police force and army could split along ethnic lines, prompting another civil war.

The ambassador acknowledged that northern Afghanistan has a lot of militias, but said he didn't think they threatened national unity. "I think their primary interest has been criminal activity, rather than preparing for the next civil war, which I really don't see coming," he said.

Crocker is retiring from the foreign service after a storied tenure in some of the world's most dangerous hotspots. Without giving specifics, the U.S. State Department said health reasons have forced the 62-year-old envoy to leave Kabul."

'via Blog this'