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Subscribe to RSSISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The United States and Afghanistan have agreed to "give safe passage" to representatives of the Afghan Taliban to help them to enter future peace talks, officials announced Friday.
It may represent a significant step forward towards the resumption of peace talks that were suspended in Qatar last month, and comes just weeks ahead of a NATO summit in Chicago on the future of Afghanistan.
Speaking at a joint press conference with U.S. Special Envoy Marc Grossman and Pakistani Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Javed Ludin said: "Time is short, peace is urgent."
New blow to US-Afghan links? Congressional delegation meets Karzai foes
"We need to find and encourage and create safe passage for peace talks," with the Afghan Taliban, he added.
His comments came after the three countries held their sixth meeting aimed at political reconciliation in Afghanistan.
A U.S. Embassy official confirmed to NBC News that the countries have agreed to allow and facilitate travel of the Afghan militants to participate in any future talks. The official said details of how it would work in practice have not been announced.
U.S. sees Taliban talks suspension as tactical move
Jilani announced the establishment of two new groups, one to represent the efforts of the three countries at the United Nations, and another responsible for "safe passage." "Safe passage will be to help bring Afghan Taliban in to peace talks," he told NBC News.
Rahmat Gul / AP
More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.
Talks were suspended last month amid a string of public setbacks that have scandalized and angered Afghans, notably U.S. soldiers' burning of copies of the Koran and the killing of 16 Afghan villagers for which a U.S. soldier is in custody.
Dr Gareth Price, senior research fellow at Britain's Chatham House think thank, told msnbc.com the move could be seen as a "confidence-building measure".
"The US has made clear it will remain in Afghanistan in some form - that's the stick, if you like, so maybe this is the carrot," he said.
On Tuesday, White House sources told Reuters that President Barack Obama's administration may hand over a Taliban detainee at Guantanamo Bay prison directly to the Afghan government in order to help revive peace talks.
As foreign forces prepare to exit Afghanistan, the White House had hoped to lay the groundwork for peace talks by sending five Taliban prisoners, some seen as among the most threatening detainees at Guantanamo, to Qatar to rejoin other Taliban members opening a political office there.
Sources: Scant evidence 'torture' aided war on terror, Senate probe finds
While that plan has not been scotched entirely, several sources familiar with preliminary discussions within the U.S. government said the United States may instead, as an initial gesture meant to revive diplomacy, send one of those detainees directly to Afghan government custody.
The sources identified the detainee as a former Taliban regional governor named Khairullah Khairkhwa, who is seen by American officials as less dangerous than other senior Taliban detainees now held at the U.S. military prison in Cuba.
Karzai slams NATO over 18-hour Kabul gunbattle
More than a year ago, the White House launched what began as a secretive diplomatic bid to coax the Taliban, the Islamist group that ruled Afghanistan until 2001, into peace talks. That campaign has become central to U.S. strategy as officials conclude the Afghan war will not end on the battlefield alone.
Five alleged members of the Taliban are being detained in Afghanistan after authorities discovered a huge amount of explosives in a truck. NBC's Lester Holt reports.
It remains far from clear whether the Taliban would embrace sharing power in Afghanistan and whether the militants are cohesive enough to agree on a joint diplomatic approach.
But Washington's strategy, before the summit in Chicago, is to build on what officials see as military progress against the Taliban, and encouraging signs from the Afghan and Pakistani governments, to heap pressure on the Islamist group.
The Chicago summit is expected to further detail plans for the withdrawal of most of NATO's 130,000 troops there by the end of 2014 and set the course for future ties between Afghanistan and the West.
After an 18-hour assault, the Taliban took responsibility for the destruction. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
U.S. efforts to broker the talks were dealt a blow last month when the Taliban suspended its participation and appeared to reject even minimal restrictions for prisoner transfer.
'Deplorable': U.S. defense chief condemns urinating Marines video
Meanwhile, President Obama has reviewed potential threats to the United States before next week's anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, but there is no concrete evidence al-Qaida is plotting any revenge attacks, the White House said on Thursday.
U.S. Navy SEALs shot bin Laden last year in a raid on the al-Qaida leader's compound in Pakistan before dawn on May 2 local time, which was May 1 in the United States. The killing is touted by the Obama administration as one of its top national security accomplishments.
Osama bin Laden's widow, kids leave Pakistan
"At this time, we have no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, are plotting attacks in the United States to coincide with the anniversary of bin Laden's death," White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Thursday.
Farooq Naeem / AFP - Getty Images
U.S. forces found and killed the al-Qaida leader in the affluent Pakistani town of Abbottabad, where he had been living in a large compound.
That assessment was echoed in an FBI and Department of Homeland Security intelligence bulletin issued on Wednesday to state and local law enforcement agencies.
The bulletin said U.S. agencies "have not detected signs of homeland plotting by these groups in the intervening months."
Abbottabad: One year after bin Laden
Despite the lack of evidence of a threat, the bulletin cautioned that al-Qaida "probably would view a homeland attack on this anniversary as a symbolic victory that would help reassert the group's global relevance following the major leadership losses and operation setbacks it has suffered over the past year."
Reuters contributed to this report.
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- Israeli military chief: I doubt Iran's 'rational' leadership will make nuclear bomb
Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world
Leave a Comment:
The only "safe passage" the Obama administration should be offering the Taliban terrorists is "safe passage" to hell. The mass murdering, child raping Islamic terrorists want to kill everyone of us and enslave our children. And we're offering them "safe passage."
That has got to be the DUMBEST move yet! The final nail in his own coffin!
ROFL!!! This sounds like some of the same logic that Mubarak must go so that the Muslim Brotherhood can take over.
Maybe the O'bama administration needs to take a look at the tapes of the 200 people that jumped to their deaths...remember the 3000 innocent people that died on 911? Remember them dancing in the streets over this purely evil act all over the ME? These people have no conscious to negotiate with! I think O'bama has an affinity towards these people. How else do you explain such foolishness?
What ever happened to the policy that we do not negotiate with terrorists. To negotiate with the Taliban would be the same as admitting that they have beaten us. In addition, there is no way that you can negotiate with these Islamic fanatics. There is no reason to arrange safe passage for Taliban leaders to peace negotiations because there is no reason to hold peace negotiations with them. They do not want to peacefully coexist with others. They want complete control and will never accept anything but that. They not only will, but see it as their duty to lie to us in order to achieve their goals. Nothing that the Taliban agreed to could be trusted. They would say whatever they needed to say to gain some official standing in the government and then they would then use that standing to force the US and all other foreign forces out of Afghanistan. Once that was done, the other parties in the government would be quickly pushed aside and the Taliban would take over complete control. There is no way that the Taliban is going to accept a long term sharing of power with anyone that does not subscribe to their extreme brand of Islam and Sharia Law. Anyone in opposition to the implementation of their extremist agenda would wind up either disappearing or be openly killed as an "infidel." The Taliban does not only see westerners as infidels, they see anyone who does not conform to their views of how society should be run as an infidel.
As for releasing these five senior Taliban leaders from Gitmo all I can say is you have got to be kidding me. Whether they were released directly in Qatar or turned over to the Afghan government the result would be the same. These fanatics would once again be on the loose plotting attacks against anyone who does not agree with their views. Even is the Afghan government wanted to keep them in custody they would not be able to do so. This is because the Afghan military and national police are so heavily infiltrated with Taliban and Taliban sympathizers. It would only be a matter of time, and a short time at that, before they managed to "escape" custody. The only place these terrorists should ever be released to is a cemetery.
There will be no peace with the Taliban. Now or never. They live an existence of violence and terror. They like killing innocent women and children, and the world allows them to do so. We need to take the gloves off and really start eradicating them as soon as possible.
@ Doug; Here,here,you stole my thunder. You can not negotiate with these guys, they only understand the gun.
Put some tracking chips in their 'falafel helper' when they pause for lunch.
Infect them with HIV and turn em loose. Hope they infect all their friends.
Sideline to this same article: Taliban caught with 11 tons of high explosives. Yea, they want peace. Come on!
Now we're letting down our guard and negotiating with the enemy. What's 'safe passage' include I wonder: Maybe millions of taxpayer dollars set aside to fund resort hotel stays, transportation aboard luxury jets, limousines, entertainment...
Whatever happened to the United States of America I learned about in school, and I think, lived in not too long ago?
Why have we let it become the piece of crap it is today, so divided, so politically correct, taking away civil liberties and re-writing the Constitution? Because we obviously don't care or aren't interested enough.
Glad I had a chance to experience the original one. I for one, have tried to speak out and make people aware of our falling, but obviously, more needs to be done than talk and voting.
Right on! The Taliban, its puppet, Karzai, and any other Taliban supporters should be given a trip to be with their pal bin Laden.
I don't think much of or really trust the Taliban, but if you leave them and their POV out; you likely will not have a lasting peace. So let them attend, participate and see. If they are uncompromising and uncooperative then they will have had their chance. You include them and they cannot claim to have been ignored, and you can better control them.
Trust them...not much
Like them...Even Less
But they are not Al Queda, they are Al Queda's mean cousin...not much but a little better.
This is not a statement of support for them and their government or their past support of terrorism in any way. But if you ignore them...they will be back. Id rather have them where I can keep an eye on them.
You watch Doug the Obama administration will be chauffeuring them in Black sedans and SUV's to all their meeting, just like they do for heads of state..
JS in SD; the policy of not negotiating with terrorists went out the window when Ollie North and others in the Reagan administration participated in the Iran Contra affair.
Can anyone say: right in Pakistan and Afghanistan how many Islamic militant groups are there?
Is it not a joke to do hair splitting and wasting time talking about "peace" with Afghan Taliban?
Even after 11 years of war in Afghanistan and 20 years in Iraq (since 1991), many in the US and allies don't know what they are doing.
Bush and co did not know what they were doing when they went into Iraq wars (1991 and 2003) and Afghanistan in 2001!
Hope many and NATO soldiers know the pains at least!
I cannot believe we are doing this. These people and their “brotherhood” have murdered 3000++ Americans and now Obama wants to hold hands and sing Cumbawa. And he releases 5 of the worst of the worst criminals from GTMO. This has to be one of the dumbest things this President has done to date…we have to get rid of him before we all are speaking Arabic.
More then 50 years ago we were in a world war with two countries, Japan and Germany, and not a single person wanted anything to do with the Japanese or German people! Make peace? Help then recover from the war?? NEVER! But, thankfully, smarter people then yourselves prevailed and now we consider Japan and Germany 2 of our main allies..
A few years later we were calling the Vietnamese our most hated enemies, 'gooks' who should be wiped off the face of the Earth! They are anything but our enemies now, right?
Now we hate the Taliban and with damn good reason but the fact is they are there and they are not going away! Like so many other nations we have gone to war with only to become allies with at a later time, the Taliban must be reined in and peace is the ONLY road that will make that happen..
These people disgust me to no end, I hate the fact that they treat women worse then cattle, that they use and abuse children, that they are ignorant in the extreme, that they have a long litany of horrible crimes racked up against them.. I wouldn't mind seeing most of them tarred and feathered and ran into the ocean, but IF it prevents one more AMERICAN SOLDIER'S death, then I'll gladly swallow my anger and pride ANY day of the week and wish the peacemakers all the best!!!
It may be we will never see these people become the allies that Japan and Germany became after the war, they are too different from us and have no respect for anything, but better a wobbly peace with them, then continuing this long, drawn-out conflict!
Smart money would be to plant the leaders with any possible tracking device. When the talks inevitably break down, let them go home, and hit them extremely hard. These people only know, only respect strength. If we were to nail them, it would send a clear message to the Taliban, to the villages sympathetic to the Taliban and to the weakling known as Karzai. Peace is a waste of time. The same held true for better people- the NVA. Taliban types are only interested in playing the best hand at the time, for the time presented. After that, it's back to making Pakistan and Afghanistan a sh.....hole. The Russians can best explain this to the ignorant coalition. You must deal with these people with force. Karzai, knowing a weakened hand from the Americans has been allowed to play both sides- whining for us to stay, chiding us for the difficult tasks we undertake. American troops need to be praised by both Karzai, and y the Taliban. They are "owed" for making Afghanistan have hope for the first time in 30 years. Remember, Sharia law (Taliban form) doesn't bode well for Afghan women, investment or the future of impressionable Muslims. Only 3 nations accepted the Taliban regime. We cannot ignore the implications of giving power to these people and credibility to their ways.
Freedom for the Taliban!
You seriously took the words right out of my mouth I was going to say the same thing almost verbatim!
When Al Quaida attacked the U.S. We responded by attacking the Taliban. All but a few of those responsible for 911 were Saudis. Instead of going after the ones actually responsible for the attack, we chose to let them escape into Pakistan and committed the U.S. to instead help Afghanistan in their rebellion against the Taliban in their own country and take them out of power. The Taliban since then have grown from a few hundred to many thousands. To say after ten years we are making any headway in helping Afghanistan in their civil war against the Taliban is fruitless. We lost that fight the day we diverted our military into Iraq and turned our backs on helping the Afghanis irradicate the Taliban. Now the Afhganistan government wants to plea bargain with the Taliban as a peace effort in stopping the war and the U.S. would be best advised to reverse it's policy and go back to its grassroots of simply helping the Afghanis in it's efforts to topple the Taliban and now realize their role is simply to empty Guantanamo of its Taliban prisoners and do exactly what they should have done on day one and that is shipped them back to the Afghan military and let them decide what they want to do with their prisoners. Then remove our military from Afghanistan. This satisfies the Afghani governments requests as well as satisfies what the Taliban said for several years before the war on terror and that is to get our military out of their country.
JS in SD, you took the words right out of my mouth. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO "WE DON'T NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS"?!?!?!
Another great move by the Obama, for his people. (sarcasm)
So there are the good terrorists? Or are they Saudi royals? I remember after 911 many of the Saudi royals were give "safe passage" when all flights were grounded and only theirs were allowed to leave.
I'm with you skeeter. It makes me sad to see the US become what it has become. I do feel grateful that I got to experience America when it was great. I dont think you fix this...
I thought only George Bush gave safe passage to terrorists. Could it be that Obama and Bush are very much alike when it comes to the war on terror??
All these Obama-bashers...I know, I know....Obama owns this mess...
But if you rightwingnuts think we will forget this coming election that the war should have been conducted using all the might of the United States and ended within a year or two from its start, rather than botched for the next Administration to clean up, then you are all sadly mistaken.
Notice how quiet it is from the Left ? Wait, there is one: jimsepa.
Where is Flyeisty, and the others, defending this International "policy" ? Wait a minute, Flyeisty is from somewhere NEAR Cheeecago and is probably taking "personal" precautions.
Yea, Ido, defending a policy for a war that should have been resolved a long, long, long time ago. Wash your hands of your Party's responsibility in this national mess. I really don't get it.
Where is the outrage that we, the strongest nation on earth, didn't go into some backwards country, take care of business, and move on? Despite ALL the rhetoric, all American of all political persuasions should be angry.
Our politicians again have their head where the sun doesn't shine. Where are the advisors here? The Middle Eastern Peoples only submit and respect overt power which is why a democracy has never truly existed. It's much easier for the freedom loving people to leave their country than fight (cities) or they've grown up in a tribe/ethnic group which has always been at war with whatever power so that is all they know. Again our politicians are not recognizing the situation - it's a no-win battle and there are no benefits other than practical training for our troops and use of our technological superiority. Sure - go ahead and hold "negotiations" and "give them a voice"; but recognize that in the end, the extremists still exists and unless there is true power to stamp out this extremism (example-total country destruction like Nazi Germany), then they will never see the light, and I don't see the U.S. committing to those resources from my tours so we should pull out to view real dangers now and utilize our drones in full force until they beg for peace; no need to waste multi-million dollar jets.
We should take a page out of the Taliban's book. Offer them safe passage and then when we have them all, behead them all on national television. I personally am tired of treating these people like they have any rights, as the old saying goes, 'If you want to act like a animal then expect to be treated as one'. Political correctness is killing us and our boys and they know this, so screw the Geneva convention, it should only be applied if both parties agree to abide by it, if not then treat our prisoners the same way they treat theirs.
If you just kill everyone you come in contact with, you'll never end the problem. More people will become angry and be incited to more violent action. Wouldn't you rather end it peacefully?
initally i was shocked by this news, but,.... i have to be confident that there is a method to thier madness..obama is not that ignorant, especially in an election year. i have a feeling the president and his advisors know what they are doing. he did get bin laden. maybe these terrorists are microchipped and in time, will help us. who knows? but there's more here than what meets the public eye. that, you can be sure of.
"Safe Passage" = capitulation
Isn't that spelled 'decapitation'?
NO . capitulation is correct.
capitulation definition: act of surrendering or yielding
Exactly what I was thinking. Problem is that Obamanation is more worried about his Brotherhood than he is the American people. He wants them to have freedoms while he takes ours away. Obama's idea of waterboarding is the new wave pool he wants to build at Gitmo. Next he will allow these prisoners to be making cold calls, collections calls and maybe warranty for Dell.
For doing too much of "urgent" and "peace" talks, Rabbani was blown up!
Wait for more of seventh century desert dances by these Islamic militants and many of the US and allies dancing along with them!
The Taliban is on a fanatical, self declared Islamic mission from God, which has involved burning schools, blowing up 1,000 year old cultural monuments, beating, torturing, and physical disfigurement. Now they want to "talk"? Who in their right mind would believe this? Religious fanaticism is NOT subservient to treason and introspection. The Taliban will do and say anything they can to achieve their goals. The Nazis wanted to talk too. Neville Chamberlain got a peace accord from them.
And their goal, and that of Al-quaida, is total Islamic domination of the world. They don't have the army that the Nazis did, but their goal is the same. There will never be peace with them.
Nazis are nothing compared to these Islamic militants, especially Sunni ones.
Look at the track record of followers of Islam since the birth of Islamic cult.
When losing fooling opponents by talking of "peace", "love", "charity" and so on have been common tricks!!!
I thought we dont negotiate with terrorists...
Haven't you heard? This is all part of the "new and improved" and "enlightened" America now.
Many happy returns.
I believe that saying started with ronald reagan. Americans held hostage while secretly negotiating to sell them plane loads of weapons, mainly to ensure an election went their way. Deregulation of the banks and wall street ran wild, shortly.
Saudis and Pakis have certified that these are "good" and "peaceful" terrorists.
What counts are Saudis and oil companies "certificates".
So even Syrian rebels supported by the Sunni al-Qaida and Muslim brotherhood are "good" ones deserving support.
You see: many like Hillary Clintons and Republicans are worried about bad guys getting an upper hand!!
I don't believe there is any real evidence to back up your theory stonepipe.
Weery-did you watch the Iran-Contra charade before congress? As far as the baking deregulation, look around.
US Obama offers safe passage for "Serial Killers" ... there are "NO WORDS" ... you think there is a chance for "peace" with serial killers ... selah
Now after all our men/woman lost lives,wounded they want to give them a safe passage,it should be straight to hell.
Bill your right POLITICS makes very strange bed fellows..... We have to sit back and watch history repeat itself..... GET US OUT OF THERE.....
OH, I don't know if Bill has right-wing politics...but I am a lifelong liberal and I agree with him completely on this one. You can't get much further right than the Taliban.
Cassandra I think OHGuy meant right as in correct ;)
If this does nothing else, I hope it positively identifies taliban members so the Romney administration can bring these terrorists to justice in 2013.
Nothing to WIN the war Just more appeasement and ass kissing. But what do you expect from a half Breed Kenyan who doesn't really know who his daddy is.
OH! I forgot to add: The Bush, Halliburton, Cheney dissension makers sure in the hell didn't do any better. SSDD!
Of course we'll give them safe passage, right to Cuba! How can anyone consider allowing these dirty, cut throats into this country? They had better protect them extremely well or they may wind up in a Chicago ghetto fighting for their lives. Then they will know what America is really like.
Why not just offer safe passage to every murdering thug in Al-Qaeda too?
they aren't bringing them to chicago. there is a summit for NATO in chicago. the peace talks are happening in afghanistan.
We have to start somewhere however, "safe passage" can also be used to our advantage. We can start to see into their heads and try to figure out what their next moves could be.
I understand all of your above comments but we're not going to halt a war that's been going on for 600 years in 10 + yrs. You guys know as well as I do that USA is dominant and has the most intelligent military in the world and we'll eventually figure it out.
But once we get it figured out, will it really be worth the price? I don't see anything in Afganistan that we can't do without. I guess time will tell.
The only way safe passage can be used to our advantage is if they include a drone magnet in the gift bags they'll hand out at the meeting.
Creek Dog, after the military takes over, then they could do what needs doing. But not with political oversight.
It is just another example of appeasement & ass kissing Islam. It is also negotiating with terrorist. I'm a liberal, but I will not vote for Obama if he allows this. Either get our people out of their or stop pussyfooting around & eradicate the problem now without regard to Political Correctness, World opinion, or dare I say collateral damage. I'd rather 100 of their innocents die than 1 more of our soldiers.
...enter future peace talks and plan future assaults. Nice.
Who could actually believe anything that is said or agreed upon by these people??? SHAKING MY DAMN HEAD!
obama is so desperate for a foreign policy victory just like he was in north korea and that failed when he gave them food aid and they launch missle anyway. He had alot of failed foreign policys and now this i guess he really desperate. Remember this and everything this guy ever done. Same goes to giving claim islands off of alaska to russians and that whole comment that when he wins elections he will be more agreeable to the russians? he appeased them alot and go noting in return. i dont know if the man is scared of putin or what but obama is weak and we have to get rid of him when elections comes im not a republican or democrat either but lets vote this guy out before he destroys this nation
all the obama lovers should be proud of their president-what a dumb ass. True muslim.
It is vital to the future of Afghanistan that the Taliban cease hostilities and learn peaceful means of achieving their goals through democratic political competition and peaceful exchange of ideas instead of armed force and coercion. What they have to understand is that any form of dictatorship is completely unacceptable, even dictatorship for religious reasons. It is the collective will of the Afghan people which they must learn to serve in the future, and if the Afghan people want a society governed by religious edict, then that is for the Afghan people to collectively indicate through their political votes, and not because they have it forced on them by others. If the Taliban can agree to these future terms, then generally speaking there will be peace in Afghanistan, and all outside military occupation forces can one day leave. - RC
The Taliban can agree with the terms you outlined, but they will never abide by them. To all but Obama and company, it is apparent that you can't negotiate with the Taliban. Their ideology does not allow for the peaceful coexistence with anybody that doesn't share their ideology. How much history has to be ignored for anybody to believe that an agreement with the Taliban would have any meaning? In addition, there is no one authority representing the Taliban that could enforce any such agreement.
How do you know the Taliban won't uphold a cease-fire? The IRA has upheld a cease-fire in Northern Ireland since 1998. Hezbollah has upheld one in Lebanon since 1990. What makes the Taliban so different from these other armed groups?
Finally, some sanity on this thread. This is the closest we are ever going to come to the Taliban's "surrender". These guys will never surrender. They are not a nation, they cannot be defeated by taking control of their land. Kill one, and two of their family or friends their place. This leaves us with three options: 1) stay there and fight them forever (something apparently a lot of people want), 2) give up and leave (our losses were for nothing), or 3) get them to agree to terms in an attempt to make things better before we leave.
Pretty...please don't compare the Taliban to the IRA, who were never mindless fanatics murdering women and children. Besides, they wrote a lot better than the Taliban, too.
This is the correct move. This acknowledges, correctly, that the last ten years have been a strategic failure. We've failed in that country because we've had no coherent message about what we want to create there.
The only question is to what extent - if at all - the Taliban has a unified chain-of-command? If its more of a de-centralized movement at this stage it could be difficult for talks to achieve anything permanent. Would the different factions within the Taliban be willing to accept the decisions of a single leader? These are important questions that need to be considered in talking with these folks.
To the extent that the Taliban is unified enough to make peace talks productive I think we should be equally willing to work with them. You can't do foreign policy by this Good vs. Evil metanarrative - it destines you to continue fighting for eternity. Besides, theres no reason to think that military action is the only way to tame the ambitions of extremist elements. Northern Ireland, Lebanon, the Balkans...all these areas are much more peaceful then they once were not because an extremist element was eradicated militarily, but because the militias agreed to be incorporated into the political system. Though these places might not be perfect, they're still much much much better off than they once were...
Its worth giving this a shot in Afghanistan considering that there is preciously little at stake in that country for the United States. This is not some civil war taking place in Minnesota or something. Indefinite war 10,000 miles away in order to defeat "evil" is not responsible policy. Its not even feasible policy. Lets start thinking like adults folks, shall we.
PT - Good post and agree wholeheartedly. However, your request for people on this blog to "think like adults" will go in one ear and out the other.
What's the alternative? Continue doing what has faled for 10 years, and for other countries, many years before that?
Only ideolouges believe we can somehow "win" in Afghanistan, although that is exactly what Romney said we should do (stay there until we "win").
I agree, something definitely needs to be done with Afghanistan. But whatever it is, should not cost another American life. Enough is enough. The seeds have been planted, the vines have grown, the grapes have been harvested and mashed and all the other ingredients, including American blood, have been added. It is now time to just cork the barrel and see if we get wine or vinegar. Our involvement is no longer necessary.
Rick Carter: This will happen when Pigs Fly.
PrettyToney19941994 You are one of the most intelligent people on this board, except for you thing " Its worth giving this a shot in Afghanistan considering that there is preciously little at stake in that country for the United States "please read attached , I'm all for giving peace a chance, especially if it beats us going into debt as Usama has wanted all along, best way to destroy a country is to destroy its wealth/economy.
I have read and re-read this comment, taken what you say into concideration of the facts you ackowleged...my belief is still no, this is a bad idea...very bad. There isn't peace in the Taliban or Al-Quida, I have researched a great deal on this, I haven't just read an article and commented on it, I know many of their countrys people live here and muslims from other countries as well, and they try to live in peace and raise families educated their children Here, and thats okay because thats what this Nation is all about...what they are about is dominence...cold hard ruthless killing and taking over whomever disbelieves their way...and there is no reformation of ideas or ideals unless the twin towers didnt get the memo on believe like us or die...no, they won't conform to any policies we would discuss, they believe to the bone of their religion and we are the infidels, and they will try to make that happen as long as we live.
grimmsusie,
So whats the plan then? Continue fighting until they abandon Islam? This is a religion that has been around for 1400 years...
Might be awhile...
Obama's foreign policy reminds me a lot of Bush I; practical, achievable and consensus-based.
Well,
We can HOPE that they will like us AND CHANGE their fanatical hate for us.
I mean, it's worked so well here after-all.
You miss the point. They will never love us, ever, nor will they ever succumb to us, just as they have never succumbed to any invader over the last several centuries.
So the obvious answer is get what you can, declare victory and leave, but keep those drones gassed up and ready to go.
Mark... ever hear of sarcasm?
XD, I'm not that bright to begin with but on top of that, it's early!
Early is right!! Hell, even the roosters aren't up here!
Sounds like Veitnam to me, war over nothing again. Just go home!
There it is. It sounded like Vietnam to me when we first went in there. Those who don't remember or learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
will we never learn... all i can say for sure is every member of our government who approves of this. Has forgotten. We will never forget.
its ok israel is in control,im sure they have americas worst nightmare yet to come.
its time we purge our goverment of traitors and liars and deport bo for being an illegal alien.
israel can pack up hollywood,the main stream media and all the filthy grabage programs and nasty boo hoo for me movies about ww2 while they do much worse.
israel and all its american supporters have worn out their vile stay in the usa go back and play in r sandbox.
lets nuke israel for world peace.
"PUKE"
I can see it now, everyone is there for the meeting, in walks the Taliban Representative, then "BA BOOM"
So...does Obama kiss them on the right butt cheek, or the left? Yeah, the left.
We need to be careful not to hurt their feelings, either. Of course, we could always toss them a couple of women to behead so they feel comfortable.
Or did he kiss him somewhere else?
Most American would rather Obama indulge them on meaningless issues than see more useless deaths of fine young American soldiers.
The right obviously would rather more deaths, just as long as it's not them (God forbid) who are dying. More than five thousand dead with tens of thousands more wounded isn't enough to satiate their "pride".
stupid post. What is YOUR brilliant solution in afghanistan? The FACT is that the taliban IS a key player there, and it doesn't seem like we can eliminate them...so unless you are volunteering yourself and a million of your friends and family to occupy that country forever, you'd better come up with a better idea fast.
Impress us with your brilliance!
as if we don't have butchers in this country- the evil here is greater than there-since they've no laws against they're actions they violate what we see as God's law here we we violate God's AND man's law therefore we are more evil!!! Over a dozen Military personnel with top clearance were caught perusing kiddy porn on military computers-1 in 5 women in this country are sexually violated by a parent- not to mention there are those who suffer in the west being born the wrong gender who have to be "re-asigned"--the list of abominations goes on, yet somehow people like you would say they hate our freedoms- they hate that we harm them but add insult to it.-A common thread in islamic culture is hospitality to the stranger, here the stranger is in ever present danger-The war on terror can only be won if we deserve it!!!