WASHINGTON, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - General David Petraeus said Wednesday that attempts are being made to open talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan and that the United States should be prepared to engage with its enemies.

His comments came a day after US presidential rivals Barack Obama and John McCain tangled over the question of directly engaging Iran in their second one-on-one debate.

'I'm trying to go around minefields these days and not blunder into them,' Petraeus said. 'But I do think you have to talk to enemies.'

'You've got to set things up. You've got to know who you're talking to. You've got to have your objectives straight -- all the rest of this stuff,' he added. 'So I'm not trying to, again, get into the middle of domestic politics.'

Petraeus, who is credited with a dramatic turnaround in Iraq during his 19-month tenure as the top US commander there, assumes command at the end of October over the US Central Command.

The post puts him in charge of all US military operations in an area that includes Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The general made no direct reference to Iran in his 'enemies' comments at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

But he noted that Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has asked Saudi Arabia to arrange peace talks with the Taliban, and added 'there also have been some local activities.'

'The key there is making sure that all of that is done in complete coordination with complete support of the Afghan government and with President Karzai,' he said.

'If there are people that are willing to reconcile, then I think certainly that that would be a positive step in some of these areas that have actually been spiraling downward throughout the course of this year,' he said.

General David McKiernan, the top US commander in Afghanistan, has called for enlisting the support of Afghan tribes in much the same way that Petraeus did to turn Sunni tribes in Iraq against Al-Qaeda.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon last week, McKiernan would not rule out reconciliation with ousted Taliban leader Mullah Mohmmad Omar.

He said any reconciliation effort should be led by the Afghan government, but that the military would support it.

Asked whether dealing with the man who harbored Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was beyond the pale, McKiernan said, 'I think that's a political decision that will ultimately be made by political leadership.'

Karzai said September 30 that he has asked Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to arrange talks with the Taliban so that Omar and other militia leaders could return home in peace.