The Village Voice: Nation: Mondo Washington: The French Connection by James RidgewayParis interviews and translation by Sandra Bisin Then it shifted to the point where advisers thought that the economic arguments would make the difference with the Taliban and accelerate the negotiations. They started to put the oil subsidies that would be given to the Taliban on the table. At the end of July, the negotiations broke down, because the U.S. threatened to go to war with the Taliban if they didn't accept the deal."