is the United States considering talks with elements of the Taliban?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY BOUCHER: No. I’m afraid there are a lot of errors in some reporting on this subject. Everybody’s kind of spinning out of control. Here’s what’s going on: First, there has been a review of how we do better with the job that we’re doing in Afghanistan, but frankly I’ve been around for years and have probably done five of those. We’re always trying to make improvements in what we’re doing. Reconciliation is not a topic in that review. I talked to the direct guy who’s in charge of drafting it yesterday. He hasn’t put pen to paper yet, so there’s no draft to quote from. We’re not talking about the U.S. talking to the Taliban. The issue is that both Afghanistan and Pakistan, for that matter, have policies on reconciliation. We have been and continue to be willing to support those policies. QUESTION: As part of that, there was a meeting earlier this week, a so-called mini-jirga in Islamabad. Pakistani and Afghan officials and tribal leaders have agreed to make contact with
