“Reconciliation is what takes place, of course, at higher levels. President Karzai has been very clear about the red lines for reconciliation, accept the constitution, lay down their weapons, cut their ties with al Qaeda and essentially become productive or at least participating members of society in that regard.”

American Army general and CIA director

David Howell Petraeus is a retired United States Army general and former CIA director. He served from 2011 to 2012 as the agency’s fourth director, after a 37-year military career. Before leading the CIA, Petraeus held several senior Army commands. He led U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq as commanding general of Multi-National Force, Iraq, then served as commander of U.S. Central Command and later as commander of the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces, Afghanistan.