THE 2008 MECCA EPISODE V. G. KORGUN Doctor of Historical Sciences Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Key words: the Afghan problem, the negotiation process, the dialogue of political forces, the Taliban movement, extremist ideology, the terrorist threat At the end of December 2012, the world media reported: in the vicinity of Paris, in the town of Chantilly, negotiations were held between representatives of the Afghan government, the loyal (systemic, parliamentary) opposition and the Taliban. To many, this short piece of information was encouraging, indicating that the peace process in the long-suffering country has finally begun. However, it soon became clear that it was too early to be happy. And the meeting near Paris is just the beginning of a long chain of attempts by Kabul and its Western backers to start a negotiation process, the need for which they recognized back in 2007. Since then, the situation related to a peaceful solution to the Afghan problem has changed little - full-fledged negotiations have not begun. Although Kabul and its foreign sponsors have tried various means to achieve this goal. Back in 2004, by decree of President Hamid Karzai, a National Reconciliation Commission was established headed by the Chairman of the Senate, a well-known religious figure who was briefly President of Afghanistan, S. Mojaddidi. In 2005, the Afghan President called on the Taliban to come to the negotiating table and start a dialogue, but there was no adequate response. And then, given the role of Islamabad, which is constantly accused by Kabul of secretly supporting the Taliban, who took refuge in the North-Western Border Province of Pakistan, H. Karzai decided to resort to traditional methods of conflict resolution in tribal society - to convene a Grand Jirga (Grand Council) representatives of the Pashtun tribes of the two countries. GRAND JIRGA: HOPES AND REALITIES And so, in accordance with the agreement reached in September 2006 du ... Read more