U.S. and Taliban hold first talks since Afghanistan withdrawal
CBSN
In the first known meeting since Kabul fell, a U.S. delegation led by CIA Deputy Director David Cohen sat down Saturday with the Taliban and will meet Sunday in Doha, the capital of the Persian Gulf state of Qatar, CBS News has learned.
According to a U.S. official, the White House decided to position the CIA in a lead role in part to signal that the engagement is focused on terrorism. On Friday, a terror attack by ISIS-K in Kunduz killed dozens.
In September, Cohen said the CIA had seen "indications of some potential movement of al Qaeda to Afghanistan," adding that the agency would "obviously keep a very close eye on that." Defense and intelligence officials have said al Qaeda could reconstitute and regain a capability to attack the United States in as few as six months.
