US Vice-President Joe Biden's observation that reaching out to Taliban moderates is a tactic 'worth exploring' comes days after President Barack Obama floated the idea of engaging the reconcilable elements in talks, saying it could help stabilize Afghanistan. During his meetings with NATO and EU officials in Brussels on Wednesday, Mr Biden pledged to take into account European concerns about Afghanistan, emphasizing the break from the Bush Administration's go-it-alone approach. The participants of the North Atlantic Council's top decision-making body must have been encouraged to hear from him that the Obama Administration was determined to build on the ideas of its allies in its review strategy. Defence Secretary Robert Gates meanwhile stressed the need for preventing Taliban insurgents from returning to power in Afghanistan. Talking to the National Public Radio, he appeared reluctant to speak directly about possible talks with Taliban when asked if the Administration's goal was to gain a strong enough position to pursue negotiations with elements of the insurgents. Mr Gates got it right when he said that Taliban allied with Al-Qaeda had rebounded in Afghanistan in the years since the US-led invasion toppled their regime in that war-torn country. But then he should also keep in mind that it was mainly Mr Bush's sole reliance on the use of force that led to the resurgence of militancy. There is a need for a paradigm shift in this approach, especially when America's European allies are not prepared to contribute more frontline troops. President Obama has already set a constructive new tone for trying to deal with Iran in a broader context, not just on the nuclear issue but also on Afghanistan and Iraq. His special envoy on Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, might have correctly assessed that 70 percent of Taliban forces are paid fighters and that only a small minority are hard-core militants. This highlights the need for isolating the hardliners waging an increasingly bloody insurgency in the country, but if the Obama Administration thinks that this task can be assigned to President Hamid Karzai then it should not expect positive results. Mr Karzai's track record is so poor that he may not be trusted by anyone if he ever tries to initiate a dialogue with Taliban. Now that President Obama has realized the need for opening the door to reconciliation in which the American military would reach out to moderate elements of the Taliban, much as it did with Sunnis in Iraq, he should initiate the process with utmost care. This is one of the most difficult foreign policy challenges for his government.