Peace in Afghanistan.<br/> <br />That's the ambitious goal the U.S., Afghanistan and the Taliban hope to reach by starting peace talks in Qatar this week, all three sides announced on Tuesday.<br/> <br />President Barack Obama called the start of the talks a "courageous step" in ending Afghanistan's 12-year-long conflict with the Taliban.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SAYING:<br/> <br />"We're going to continue to support these efforts in partnership with the Afghan government. I want to repeat we don't anticipate this process will be easy or quick but we must pursue it in parallel with our military approach."<br/> <br />The Taliban opened an office in Doha on Tuesday to commence the talks. Their first formal meeting with the U.S. will be Thursday, U.S. officials have said.<br/> <br />Talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban would come a few days later.<br/> <br />In Kabul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai made the announcement during the final handover ceremony that ends NATO's co
