I don’t get this analogy

I don’t understand Elizabeth Bumiller’s article:

Washington has so far endorsed Afghan plans for reconciliation with some Taliban…the plans echo the Awakening movement in Iraq, where tribal leaders from the country’s Sunni minority rebelled against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and joined forces with the Americans.

I may be the dense one here, but I don’t get this analogy. The Sunni awakening was about Sunni leaders in Iraq deciding to join forces with US troops to fight Al Qaeda. How is the US agreeing to negotiate with the Taliban like the awakening at all? I don’t get it.