One reason why progress in the reconciliation processes has been slower than anticipated is that Western governments have not pressed Karzai to engage in genuine peace negotiations with Taliban leaders until coalition forces have had the opportunity to reverse the deteriorating situation on the battlefield. US policymakers in particular wanted to take advantage of the ongoing surge in NATO combat forces in Afghanistan – which reached 150,000 in August, of which some two-thirds were American – to shake Taliban commanders’ conviction that they were winning the war.