Fake Sheikh Debacle - McChrystal Urged Talks With Tricky Talib

McChrystal asked MI6 to develop the contacts, rather than go to the CIA, which was not empowered by the necessary White House directive to enter into direct talks with Taliban officials. The absence of such a "presidential finding" is seen by many diplomats on both sides of the Atlantic as an obstacle to progress towards a political settlement.

At this point, MI6, delighted to have been given the mission, appears to have got carried away with enthusiasm for the "breakthrough", and brushed aside doubts raised by both US and British officials about "Mansour's" credibility. "Our friends got very excited," one official involved in the discussions recalled. "I remember everyone being very pompous and secretive about this." McChrystal's successor, Gen David Petraeus, is believed to have had doubts about Mansour's identity, but ultimately encouraged the contacts and discreetly publicised them. More here.