Editorial: Talking to the Taliban is better than an endless war

After 17 years and the deaths of more than 2,400 American troops, U.S. involvement in Afghanistan might finally be coming to a close - not with a decisive victory over the Taliban but with a negotiated settlement that could give the Islamist insurgents a role in governing the country again. Still, depending on the details, that could be preferable to continued, open-ended conflict with no guarantee of success.

Although nothing has been