HMM: Afghan President Offers Taliban Conditional Three-Month Cease-Fire.

Mr. Ghani said government forces would observe a truce in fighting with the Taliban to coincide with the start on Monday of the three-day Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha and continue it through the commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday on Nov. 19 if the insurgents reciprocated.

Mr. Ghani’s announcement, during a televised speech marking Afghanistan’s independence day, came on the heels of an unusually deadly wave of violence across the country, most of it carried out by the Taliban, that has left at least 325 soldiers, police and civilians dead in the past 10 days.

“We call on the leadership of the Taliban to welcome the wishes of the Afghan people for a long lasting and real peace, and we urge them to prepare for peace talks based on Islamic values and principles,” he said. “The Afghan government has removed all obstacles for a long-lasting peace through these unprecedented steps.”

One tiny little obstacle remains: The Taliban wants power, not peace.