Embracing the Taliban

[IndianaGreen]

This story undercuts the argument by war defenders that we must stay in Afghanistan for the sake of the women. Apparently the US is quite eager to throw Afghan women under the bus if it can make a face-saving deal with the Taliban. For those of us opposed to the war, this story validates our view that American interests in Afghanistan are purely imperialistic in nature, having nothing to do with human rights. The more reason why we must demand that all of our troops are brought back home to their families.

Embracing the Taliban

On Monday, Barack Obama will call for a troop surge. What really matters is a potential sea change in U.S. policy toward its enemy

Published On Sat Nov 28 2009

White House and U.S. military sources have signalled for weeks that part of the way forward will be a redefinition of the Taliban as perhaps not so bad after all. Or not so very much worse, at least, than the corruption-plagued regime that has metastasized beneath Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"We believe our strategic problem with the Taliban begins and ends with their support for al Qaeda and their aggression against the United States and our allies," a U.S. official in Kabul told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"If the Taliban made clear that they have broken with al Qaeda and that their own objectives were nonviolent and political – however abhorrent to us – we wouldn't be keeping 68,000-plus troops here."

In this respect, at least, the U.S. now appears to be coming around to the candid view articulated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the sidelines of last year's NATO summit in Bucharest – that the lofty ideals articulated in the early years of the conflict are unrealistic. Afghanistan will still be a mess when NATO leaves. Violence will continue. That perhaps now the best-case scenario to end this latest chapter of the Great Game is a grand bargain with the other side – Afghan reconciliation, involving those who can be reconciled.

http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/731403--embracing-the-taliban

[David Zephyr]

1. K&R. I hope those that are cheering this war might consider reading this.

What a idiotic war.

This makes Viet Nam look smart.

[dflprincess]

2. Especially those who claim we have to stay there so the Taliban

doesn't regain power. :banghead:

[bvar22]

15. Yes.

It also destroys the argument that Obama is staying in Afghanistan to "save the women".

[IndianaGreen]

17. I don't think that the same government that agreed to Stupak amendment

cares that much about women, either here or in Afghanistan.

[bvar22]

18. It doesn't look like they care much about anything except....

...transferring more money to the pockets of their Corporate Donors.

[Aramchek]

3. dealing with the Taliban rather than trying to kill 'em all is hardly embracing their ideals

and they won't be retaking Afghanistan anytime soon.

do you ever wonder why you never accomplish anything?

[IndianaGreen]

4. The Taliban doesn't need to retake Afghanistan. It already governs most of the country!

The Toronto Star story merely points out the deal the US is making with the Taliban we helped create:

And quietly, in an echo of what turned the tide in Iraq, the U.S. appears to be readying a push toward winning Afghanistan valley by valley with offers of cash for local Afghan militia leaders willing to come onside the renewed U.S. effort. The program, reportedly led by U.S. Special Forces, could see as much as $1.3 billion made available to bring Afghan militias into a stand against anti-government guerrillas.

http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/731403--embracing-the-taliban

Imagine that, the US has 1.3 billion for Taliban warlords and zero dollars for universal health care!

On edit, here is an interesting WaPo article dated today:

The U.S. offensive, however, did not dislodge the Taliban from such places as Marjeh, a city of about 50,000 people in central Helmand that remains a major center for the opium trade. After several months of fighting, senior Marine officials concluded that they did not have enough troops to expand into Marjeh and a handful of other Taliban havens while holding on to the gains they had made in the province.

"Where we have gone, goodness follows," Conway said. "But the fact is that we are not as expansive as we would like to be, and those probable additional number of Marines are going to help us to get there."

The Marines' inability to push the Taliban out of these key sanctuaries led some Afghans in the area to doubt U.S. resolve. The Taliban has used its haven in Marjeh to produce roadside bombs and plan attacks on areas where Marines were trying to build the local government and police forces. This month, Taliban fighters from Marjeh killed three Afghan city council members in nearby Nawa, which Marines have held up as a major success story in the province.

"The two questions I get from Afghans are 'When are you leaving?' and 'Why aren't you going into Marjeh?' because that is where the real enemy is," said Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, senior Marine commander in the province.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/28/AR2009112802454.html

[Aramchek]

5. are you saying Afghan militias are the Taliban?

and you know damned well that Healthcare Reform is going to pass.

something Dennis couldn't have ever accomplished.

but Obama is. :)
I bet that just burns you up inside.

[IndianaGreen]

6. We are not getting universal health care. Neither the House nor the Senate bills

constitute universal health care, leaving from 12 to 24 million Americans without health coverage. Medicare for all, is universal health care because it will cover 100% of the population.

The militias referred to in the article are either Taliban, or the private militias of drug warlords.

[burning rain]

8. We're gonna make the Taliban add the ERA to their constitution!

Ya daggone cynic! ;-)

[Aramchek]

10. they are private militias, but you already knew that

Obama will be known to the schoolchildren of the future as the President who brought Universal Healthcare to America.

do you think any of them will have a clue who Dennis Kucinich is?

[IndianaGreen]

13. 12 to 24 million without health coverage does not make it universal health care

Universal health care = 100% covered.

[bvar22]

16. The Health Care Reforms MUST pay for themselves.

Remember "Deficit Neutral"?

For the WAR?
Put it on the credit card and saddle our children with the burden, no questions asked.

[Unvanguard]

7. It's a good plan for a bad problem: carrot and stick.

We won't get "good", but we might get "bad" instead of "terrible." A national reconciliation government will not be a second rendition of the 2001 Taliban: the US and its allies have enough force to prevent that from happening, and compromise on the part of whichever Taliban factions can be brought into the arrangement will obviously be a prerequisite for it. The hardliners will refuse to participate.

[IndianaGreen]

11. If you had the upper hand, would you agree to such a deal with the US?

I certainly wouldn't if I was the Taliban! Time would be on the Taliban's side. Why make a deal when things are going so well, coupled with the fact that the US would need a quarter of a million more troops to just start having any sort of influence.

[Unvanguard]

14. Obviously it depends on the US capacity to effectively exercise force.

Which is the point of the troop increase. The stronger the US presence, the more leverage it has: as I said, carrot and stick.

That's why it's strange to me that you simultaneously excoriate the US presence while attacking the prospect of a reconciliation agreement. If the Taliban has the upper hand already, then it's outright withdrawal, not making the best of a bad situation, that would constitute throwing Afghan women under the bus: a clear Taliban victory is certainly worse for the people of Afghanistan (and the US, and regional stability) than some kind of reconciliation agreement.

[johnaries]

9. WTF? Why are you making shit up?

The issue has ALWAYS been that al-Qaeda attacked us, and the Taliban harbored and aided al-Qaeda.

Personally, I always abhorred the Taliban for their human rights violations. But that was never the reason for the war in Afghanistan. If we can help restore human rights in the process, that is a plus. But it was never the mission.

[IndianaGreen]

12. Al-Qaeda is in the tribal regions of Pakistan

by the Pentagon's own admission.