 It was not clear how significant a faction had showed up in Dubai or how serious they were.A western official confirmed that there were "indications of splits in the Taliban over the prospect of a settlement".Supporters of former presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah predicted that negotiations could fail because the Karzai government was "too weak", and other critics warned that trying to buy off insurgents created a "moral hazard" of rewarding combatants who had killed Western troops and local civilians.