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The U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued a statement Thursday clarifying Vice President Biden’s recent comments in Newsweek about the Taliban. “What the Vice President said was that the Taliban is not necessarily our enemy if they lay down arms and renounce violence, break ties with al Qaeda and accept Afghanistan’s constitution, especially concerning women and minorities,” said U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker in the statement. “The Taliban has a choice: Continue to fight or join Afghan society by accepting those conditions.” In the same statement, Department of Defense spokesman Capt. John Kirby said that while the Taliban continue to attack U.S. forces, “we consider that is a force we are going to deal with.” “That said, they have political ambitions, and that’s why there’s a reconciliation process being led by the Afghan government, with the support of the State Department,” Kirby said.