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Shah Marai / AFP - Getty Images
Schoolgirls walk in the village of Istalif north of Kabul in May, 2012. Afghan girls have been legally free to attend school since the Taliban was toppled in 2001. But vicious militant attacks, a lack of adequate facilities and teachers, and a tradition which holds that girls belong in the home are some of the obstacles which they need to overcome.
Leaders of the Afghan Taliban have pledged to promote women's education as part of an apparent attempt to restart peace talks with the West, according to a document seen by a British newspaper.
"Women are also a big part of our human society," the document shown to The Sunday Times states. (Newspaper operates behind a paywall).
"The Islamic emirate will create a level ground for women's education in light of its constitution," according to the document written in Pashto, the language spoken by the vast majority of the Taliban's members, the newspaper reported.
During its years in power, the austere and deeply conservative Sunni Muslim Taliban shuttered girls' schools and stopped women from working outside the home. Now, millions of Afghan girls attend school, but vicious militant attacks, a lack of adequate facilities and teachers, and a tradition that holds that girls belong in the home stop many others from getting an education.
A crowd is seen cheering after watching the public execution of a woman accused of adultery. Warning: Viewers may find this video disturbing.
The paper obtained by The Times could not be independently verified and it was not thought to be directly linked to peace talks. However, it did show current thinking among the leaders of the group, according to the newspaper.
The newspaper reported that a go-between who claimed to have links to the Quetta shura -- the Taliban's leadership council based in neighboring Pakistan -- had provided it the policy paper.
Afghan police commander leads defection to Taliban
Last week, the Obama administration, in a move aimed at reviving Afghan peace talks, reportedly sweetened a proposed deal under which it would transfer Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison in exchange for Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the only U.S. prisoner of war who is being held by Taliban allies in Pakistan.
Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress talks about the growing outrage over a video of Taliban militants executing a 22-year-old woman accused of adultery. Tanden also shares her thoughts on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's powerful plea for the rights on women in Afghanistan.
The revised proposal, a concession from an earlier U.S. offer, would alter the sequence of the move of five senior Taliban figures held for years at the U.S. military prison to the Gulf state of Qatar, sources familiar with the case told Reuters.
Afghanistan: Nation at a crossroads
The three-page document shown to the Times also seemed to be making assurances to the Afghan army, which has received extensive training from the United States, saying it was effective in "guaranteeing national security," the Times said.
It did warn that a Taliban-led government would "prohibit" the military from meddling in politics, the newspaper added.
Afghan bomber kills senior Army leader, 2 majors
According to the Times, the paper "shows a clear desire by the Taliban to enter a political process when NATO combat troops complete their withdrawal at the end of 2014, and sets out a plan for an electoral system which, it says, would ensure fair representation for minority ethnic groups."
Minority ethnic and religious groups -- in particular Shiite Hazaras -- were brutally oppressed by the Taliban, which was ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces 2001.
The document also said the Taliban opposed terrorist groups such as al-Qaida, which it sheltered in the years leading up to the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
Karzai: a ‘prisoner in his palace’?
"We condemn terrorism ... and consider it our duty to fight terrorism and corruption," the document stated, according to the newspaper.
"Our poor nation is the victim of this terrorism," the paper added.
Afghanistan is not only one of the world's poorest nations despite billions in foreign aid spent there since the Taliban was toppled, it is also considered to be one of the most corrupt, according to Transparency International.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.
Are Muslims still permitted to lie to infidels under al-taqiya to this day?
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
Not only are they "permitted" but they actively pursue it to promote Islam.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090612100657AAeyQZ1
Yes, Roy, and "lyin' fer Jayzus" doesn't exist at all, does it?...
The whole proclamation is simply the Taliban trying to appear reasonable in order to gain international credibility, thus the very obvious weaseling in that last phrase "in light of its constitution." Not that such weaseling isn't pretty much standard procedure by governments, political parties, and corporations everywhere; it shows me that the Taliban are becoming more shrewd at public relations, not that they're legitimately changing their core beliefs...
Guess if you bash someone for a decade, they might finally start to see the light. Disenfranchising half of your population isn't only wrong, it's incredibly stupid. Women can contribute far more to a nation's wealth than merely supplying mujaheddin.
how much$$?
This gotta be a new taliban taiqiya joke, right. I wouldn't count or trust these taliban's word they are full of taqiyas. Are they talking from the wrong end (down under) opening? these despot are affraid of educated women and an educated society that's why taliban prefer islamic schooling where all they know is their spec book koran. An educated literate society is an infidel society to taliban and it means losing control of the masses. Take a look at these imams, clerics, ayatolah, all they know isrote memorization of their spec book koran, and each one of them have different intepretation of it, and each one are not educated on history, math or art/science. If it were for them there will be no sport venue, radio/TV or movies or any entertainment. These islamist does not believe in individual right/freedom, is imposed on each one what to believe and what to follow as practiced in the 7th century. They are very brave to execute women while their men commited sinsleft and right. As long as they believe a woman's voice is worth half of man's voice i would not trust any of them.
Conjuring Cat
Not that I know of. Christians are not supposed nor expected to lie. I think a "white" lie is ok tho, for instance there is no need to tell a person that her hair looks like crap lol.
I haven't checked the link but Roy is right to a point, muslims are allowed to be deceptive when/if it is for the good of Islam. It is called Taqiyya, and Makara (deceit). Don't be naive.
http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Lying
http://wikiislam.net/wiki/If_Anyone_Slew_a_Person_(Qur%27an_5:32)
http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Muslims_Caught_Using_Deception
This doesn't mean that all muslims are liars tho, nor that they are all Islamists, but some are, and do lie without remorse.
The talebans are a very violent brainwashed islamic terrorist group who made Afghanistan into a terrorist base when in power.The force non muslims to wear special badges.They blew up buddhist statues.They must be eliminated or at least kept on the run permanently.Taleban" softening" is like reducing the cyanide intake bt 1 mlgm..Its still kills you 1,2,3,!!
TALIBAN, Lost too many men fighting instead of TEACHING! They'll LEARN!
I wouldn't count on it. As long as men can force women to have children they have an unending supply of fighters in the wings.
ANY news media or anyone for that matter that would buy into ANY thing these mongrels say are complete fools...next thing you know we will be sending them money for their schools. Our country, led by the most corrupt congress in history will be the ruin of our nation. Watch and see..............
Anita....kind of what they're trying to do here huh?
Keep your hands off my birth control!
No problem .... so long as you buy it yourself.
And until Obamacare made sense of the world....I did
independantTexan - No one is trying to take away your birth control. The problem is you want me to pay for it.
Well if I gotta pay for Viagra for you then I want my Nuvaring darn it.
Why can't people see that it's in everyone's interest for women to have access to birth control? I'll pay for your daughter's birth control happily if it means that she can better equip herself to get an education and plan her family as she see's fit.
I'd rather do that then give my hard earned money to the church.
You shouldn't have to pay for Viagra, and I shouldn't have to pay for birth control. It's called freedom of choice.
Classic misdirection. Show me one woman who doesn't have access to birth control in the United States. Just one.
It has to be affordable. We can say that nobody doesn't have access to food (grocery store on every corner) too but then again that's not really true.
I see both sides of the argument. I really do. I just think that for the sake of compromise (remember that word?) if you're tired of paying for welfare and food stamps and you are against abortion......let off the birth control debate.
Affordable? Pills, patches and NuvaRings all cost between $160 and $600 per year, according to the "Alpha Consumer" article in U.S. News and World Report of 27 August 2010. If we take the median ($380), that's about a dollar a day, or the cost of a McDonald's supersized Bic Mac Meal per week. They are all about 95% effective. IUD's, Depo Provera and sterilization are about 99% effective, and cheaper. Abstinence is 100% effective, and free.
For the record, I am not against welfare and food stamps for those who need it, but I also believe they should work for it if they are able. Also for the record, I support freedom of choice, which means I am willing to let individuals make their own decisions and live with their own consequences. And I am male. I don't have to make personal decisions regarding abortion, since one of my personal choices was to not impregnate anyone out of wedlock.
In the spirit of compromise I will agree never to comment on the birth control debate again, if you will do the same. Sound fair?
Try $960 per year. That's what I paid. And what many women cannot.
But I shall agree to end the debate for now....
Taliban can only exist when the population is ignorant, educated men and women are its enemy. Isolation and ignorance with no conflicting world view is the breeding ground of fundamentalists, and that doesn't just apply to the Taliban, every fundamentalist religion depends on subservient women and isolation.
You mean like limiting access to education, contraception and voting? When people are desperate to simply survive they don't have the time or energy to pay attention to anything else and government can run rough-shod over everyone for a very long time. Government is how humans organize themselves into groups at every level. We can either make national government work for us or against us. And by "us" I mean all of us, not just the powerful few. When government works for just a few you end up with the Taliban, Assad, Mubarak, North Korea....in other words, the Tea ("I like imposing my views on the opposition") Party.
Sounds like the Catholic Church to me. the Clergy of Allah, Muhamad, God, all have the same mindset towards women.
Anita, you sounded reasonably intelligent until you compared the TEA party to the taliban. To do so is absurd hyperbole. The TEA party is engaged in the political process and used the legal political tactics at its disposal to influence the political process. You don't think the pro-abortion movement and Greenpeace don't do exactly the same thing? Oh, wait, you probably agree with those folks so its okay to do what they do. Just not the people that disagree with you. Got it.
Ditto for you 6dogs. To equate the treatment of women in islamic nations with the treatment of women in the Catholic Church is, at best, uninformed, but more likely just stupid.
Joe - the pro-abortion movement doesn't kill anti-abortion activists, and no, I don't agree with Greenpeace's radical tactics or their unbalanced agenda. I don't agree with PETA's tactics either.
My point about the Tea Party is that their public spokespeople and elected officials are proud to say they don't believe in compromise or negotiation, and neither do despots and dictators. Such people either take power by military force or by promising the populace that they can deliver salvation, especially for the "right" people against the "wrong" people. After they have achieved unchallenged political superiority they can pretty much do what they want for rather a long time. That is not just my analysis - it is essentially the stated goal of the Tea Party which has no patience or respect for any view but their own.
Anita <><><> You said: "The Tea (I like imposing my views on the opposition) party." <><><> Never-the-less, you are not opposed to imposing your views on those who disagree with you.
Ahh, exactly how is she doing that, Matilda? Is she putting a gun to your head and forcing you to agree with her? Posting an opinion on a comment string =/= "Imposing your views"...
Anita---You said: "The proabortion movement doesn't kill anti-abortion activists" --------The proabortion movement has killed at least fifty million unborn babies, in this country alone, and the anti-abortion movement has killed about six proabortionists. All of said anti-abortion killers are now dead, or in prison. BTW, the mainstream pro-life movement has denounced them. And, oh yes, what about the pro-abort who dragged me with his car about thirty feet and stopped only when a police officer ordered him to stop---but DID NOT arrest him, nor even issue him a ticket.
Addendum: I should have added "...or is in jail awaiting trial."
Reality check- the Taliban is religion based politics. It uses extreme Muslim religious beliefs as the foundation for forming its political positions and the creation of law. The Taliban wants to force all the citizens to follow their mindset and they view their positions as the only right ones.In essence the Taliban is engaged in their political process, a process they control. The Taliban then uses the law to justify the degradation, domination and human rights violations. The TEA Party (and other right wing extremists) is religion based politics. It uses extreme Christian religious beliefs as the foundation for forming its political positions and the creation of law. The TEA Party wants to force all the citizens to follow their mindset and they view their positions as the only right ones. In essence, the TEA Party is engaged in the political process, a process they WANT to control.
Differences between the TEA Party and the Taliban.... 1) The "prophet" they worship. 2) The Taliban controls their government and the TEA Party wants to but doesn't. 3) The Taliban uses violence to control the population and the TEA Party doesn't.
Both the Taliban and the TEA Party are extremists. They have no tolerance for the beliefs or rights of others. It may not be politically correct to compare any American political party to the Taliban, but that is because most people see the Taliban as guerrilla type terrorist organization. They are a highly organized political/religious organization intent of forcing their will on the everyone else. I fail to see the difference between the right-wing Christian zealots here and the Muslim zealots over there. Same motive, same desire.
Funny how Anita hates strong opinions unless they are her own. Such intolerance. The tea party just advocates personal responsibility, and we all know liberals hate that because it takes away power from their God, the government.
It's funny how people in the US are ramping up anti-bully agendas however we bully every country that doesnt adhere to our way of thinking when it comes to rights of others ...ya know what , it's their country let them run it the way they see fit not how we see fit
I don't really understand the problem. All the Prophet's wives were among the best educated women on the planet. Islam could not have survived in its present form without them. The Taliban know that the true teachers of Islam are the women. In keeping the women ignorant, they keep the men ignorant also. If I was going to teach them anything it would be the words of God (Allah) straight from the Qur'an. The Prophet's words are nothing, grains of sand in a dust storm.
You are correct in thinking that education is the true enemy of the Taliban. Aisha, the Prophet's beloved wife, said it best when she began her rebellion: "How soon indeed you have forgotten the practice of your prophet and these, his hairs, a shirt, and sandal have not yet perished!" Aisha was known for her "...expertise in the Qur'an, shares of inheritance, lawful and unlawful matters, poetry, Arabic literature, Arab history, genealogy, and general medicine." Here is the example of a modern woman in Islam. During Aisha’s entire life she was a strong advocate for the education of Islamic women especially in areas such as law and the teachings of Islam. Even though the Prophet had the support and help of his wives, all a lot like Aisha, the Taliban has to reject this example in order to maintain control over the ignorant masses which is their true goal. Islam and the Prophet is just an excuse. They cannot justify their actions through the Qur'an and nor will the Taliban follow the example of the Prophet who went out of his way to give his wives the best education possible that they desired. However, this is not just a Taliban problem. All Islam have strayed, and it is the women who cry out: "Return to the true path!" It is a cry that has fallen on deaf male ears.
The men of the Middle-East insult and degrade the daughters of Islam. Would they dare treat them so if they were the daughters of the Prophet? It is the daughters of the Prophet, the daughters of Islam, who cry out and pray for a return to the true teachings of the Prophet and follow the words of Allah that He gave as a guide unto all men. Like all religious sects it is not about God; it is about power over other people. First, men over women, and then men over other men. It is this desire for power over others that drives every aspect of this world no matter what shield (religion, ideology, etc.) they may hide behind.
Education should be freely available to all who seek learn and not a separator between the rich and the poor.
Great post RB. Christianity has done the same thing.
Why is education a bad thing? God forbid we learn from our mistakes.
Matilda, without counting all the women that anti abortionists have killed indirectly by refusing them access to birth control AND proper abortion providers, that same anti-abortion movement has killed, either by execution style bullets through a window, or by bombs set at clinics that provided a number of service to women besides abortions. To you, it appears there is no difference between telling a woman that there is someone in her area who does provide abortions and doing them yourself. Even worse, just because one particular clinic in one particular organization is able to give women this information, you call the whole organization an abortion mill. Nope, no need denying it, as I have seen and heard too many extremists going off on Planned Parenthood.
LB, if the Tea Party JUST advocated personal responsibility, there would be little fuss, Only problem is, the only people they really push that off on are the low income people, telling them it is THEIR responsibility to improve themselves, and no, they don't deserve to have a protected minimum wage. Of course, this same group has less use for unions than a pack of skunks, as unions help the workers, rather than, again, making the worker take all the responsibility for getting a job, then a raise, if the boss would be reasonable and not just fire him for having the gall to suggest he might be worth more than the minimal amount he was being paid. The Tea Party would love to see the old company towns come back into being, but, then, there would have to be companies willing to work in places where they could keep that kind of a labor force more or less captive.
Women like Clinton also threaten fundamentalist Muslims world view, someone capable, smart, and with power is this type of Muslims worst nightmare.
I would think their worst nightmare would be seeing a US drone overhead, but Clinton's probably a really close second.
Their worst nightmare for the Taliban men would be to have a 1000 Hillary's produced from educating young girls then wanting to run their country. Hillary is smart, unrelenting, but not someone you would want to come home late for dinner........
Well, why can't they get a degree at home? I'm sure plenty of online colleges would be happy to help out.
You need prior education to get into college, and they aren't allowed to get that. Plus I think internet access & computer ownership would be quite low.
Al, takes two things to be able to do home study such as you suggest, or actually, more like three or four. First and foremost, the girl has to have enough education to be able to use the computer and study on her own, not allowed under Taliban leadership. Next, she has to have electricity of some sort available at home, along with some way of connecting to the internet. Finally, even with dialup access, she would have to have a computer of some sort. I will say she would probably come nearer getting wireless internet than dialup, as there are few phone lines anywhere other than in the cities in Afghanistan. So, computer, power source, internet connection, and finally, and the big one, enough education to let her use all the above. Of course, the Taliban are a lot like our hillbillies and rednecks used to be, the woman's place was in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant.
I think Al may have intended sarcasm.
A news article I read a month ago here said that only about 30% of Afghani citizens can even read their own language. Given those stats, is it any wonder that it's a breeding ground for fundamentalists? They are poor people looking enviously at what the rest of the world has--houses, cars, computers, etc...and they wonder why they too can'thave these things. For consolation and answers they turn to their priest/Imam/holy leader, who will pretty much tell them anything he wants to in order to get them to believe what he believes and do what he tells them to. Nowhere in the Qu'ran (at least the translation I read) does it say that a martyr will get 72 virgins. And it's not exclusive to Muslims/Islamists. History has given us repeated examples of cult leaders restricting education, literacy and independent thought among their followers.
While it may look on the surface that we've wasted billions, I think in the long run (within the next hundred years or so) We're going to find that what we used in Afghanistan and the Middle East will result in the kind of return that benefits all; education, literacy, sustainability, civility,and the people will join us as a free people in a global economy.
It was a huge step at this year's Olympics that Afghanistan finally allowed a female athlete to compete on behalf of her country; the first time in that country's history that they have done so, and the last country in the Olympics that did not allow females to compete. Now they can look at the Olympics on their TV, see the other races, other countries, other religions represented there, and know that we aren't 'infidel barbarians' the fundamentalist religious leaders told them. We're people, just like them, we laugh, cry, live, bleed, and rejoice just like they do. They can no longer follow those old religious fundamentalists because the evidence before their eyes says otherwise. For the first time they can hope for something better.
And giving them--all the Afghani people--dreams and hopes is something that no one can put a price on.
I'm not sure they are envious of what we have because I don't know if the majority of Afghans even are aware of some of these things. And are cars and computers really that important? My guess would be that they are more concerned with safety and security in their homes, enough to eat, medicine when they or their families are sick, and an ability to prosper as defined by their own culture. When those simple needs are met they can start aspiring to formal education, cultural progress and material possessions.
What is not noticed by most of the populence here is the Afghan men don'i treat their women badly. They are not against educating the Females, They don't require their women to wear Burkas, and their women do have freedoms in their sociaity. Even the men do not have to grow a beard in their sociaty. That was Taliban pushing their extreem view on the people of Afghanistan.
Now they are saying we will consider letting girls get an education? Are the women going to be forced to wear Burkas and the men forced to grow beards again? What about the other point of there extreem behavier towards people?
And that's what is suspicious, 6; this proclamation sounds like a sharp turn in their beliefs, but comes hedged in a very obvious weasel term at the end of that quote...
lol, jealous of the cars and computers? You must not have any experience with Afghan society huh. They are some of the least materialistic people on the planet.
Perhaps the Taliban are realizing it is not the 8th Century CE any more? Heavens, all religions in the world have/will eventually come into the 21st century, however, it might not occur until the 25th century!
Amanda, am not sure that Afghanistan sent a women to the Olympics - I believe it was Saudi Arabia. Nonetheless, that is progress for that country also. When I was there Desert Shield/Storm, the religious police would cane beat any woman found driving.
Amanda
My apologies about women from Afghanistan competing in Olympics: Khastan and Tolfie (spelling) did and Tolfie won a Bronze
Asking a fundamentalist what sheheit is "thinking" is like going to a bait shop to find out about quantum mechanics.
Historically, the religions which cause all the horrors on the planet today originated from the same kind of people as the Taliban. Uneducated (the world is flat), vermin infested nomads who believed the gods throw lightening bolts, et cetera. I am talking about the three Abrahamic religions.
You don't have to believe in a god at all to be a Buddhist, and Hinduism, the only X-rated religion AFAIK, is less trouble for unbelievers. Another plus re Hindus: they never bore us about the astrolabe. (I'll take that back when they find an old one in good condition on Mars).
Fine, great, it's nice to read the Taliban's changed its view of women's education. I'll believe in that change when it's been in practice a few years, not when they proclaim it in some attempt to get concessions from the West.
Wow, talk about wiggle room! "In light of its constitution" could easily mean "we only want them to know how to cook, clean, and raise babies." And then, when the West challenges them on it, they get to say, "well, look--didn't we say 'in light of our constitution?'"
This is not at all unlike the Japanese at the start of WWII; they transmitted to us (through Switzerland, I believe) that they would accept the Geneva Conventions mutatis mutandis, meaning "with the necessary changes." That turned out to actually mean "we're throwing out the whole document and treating our prisoners according to the Bushido, which means we don't even consider them human beings." AFAIK, they in fact violated every single point of the GC under cover of those weasel words mutatis mutandis. So when the Taliban declare they will provide "level ground...in light of its constitution," the weaseling is practically tangible...
Yeah, everybody hold your breath while this takes effect. A British paper? Really? The Brits are the same people who pay Anjem Choudary $50,000 a year in welfare while he goes around the country doing everything he can to destroy it. The taliban will simply take the school girls out and kill them secretly now. Savages, liars, thieves, murderers and ideological nut cases don't change overnight.
they kill little girls and women I dont trust them period,they wont change over night ,plus they rape boys look up the Dancing boys they have as sex slaves and it is not just the Taliban there are some big perverts there sick just sick
I will show respect for Taliban for their decision in allowing women to promote education but I can't forgive them for the executions they have made in the past.
Education is great - but maybe this mysogynistic cult should start by allowing women access to medical care, and stop requiring them to wrap themselves in black 24-7 so as not to tempt the 'beasts' with their sexual allure. This concession smacks of some kind of carrot at the end of a burning stick. Their beliefs hold that women are chattel, and they certainly don't have the intelligence to change their views, so I can't see this as being anything to laud them for.
You dont seem to understand people on this thread! The taliban wants to keep the people over there dumbed down! Like little sheep then they can control them better! Islam is a control cult! Keep them stupid and dumb and then we can control them! And dont believe what the taliban says for one second, they can lie according to the Qura They have ann! Dont believe for one second anything they say! There is a reason, they are doing this! They want something in return! Women are inferior in islam go read the hadiths! I would never believe anything a muslim says! They are allowed to lie! they always treated women like they were dumb oxen!
The Taliban took power because the US supplied them with weaponry when they were battling the Russians. I doubt that they would have been able to achieve that kind of control without US weapons. This is a lesson in exercising caution when taking sides. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Too often, our foreign policy has been based on this philosophy. We need to reevaluate. Sometimes that enemy of your enemy is not a friend you wish to have. Perhaps the US should assess the character and decency of any faction before giving aid to people who are morally corrupt. A friend that is capable of murder and deceit will eventually turn those weapons on you, so you need to think long and hard about using them as allies.
On a separate subject, it seems as though all fundamentalist religion endeavors to control and enslave women. I can't help but wonder about the psychology of that mindset. What are these religious extremists so afraid of when dealing with women? Why does every religion begin with the oppression of women? Christianity isn't really so dissimilar. Until just recently, women were not allowed to be members of the clergy and still aren't in many denominations. I have noticed that the extremists within the religious movements in this country have a strong tendency to want to keep women out of the public eye, barefoot, uneducated and pregnant. I have also noticed that many of the right wing nut cases also bash women every chance they get. They refer to women in derogatory sexual terms and they often accuse women they don't like of some kind of aberrant sexual behavior. Oppression is just about wearing a burkha, it is also about intimidation and abuse. Before we judge others we should clean our own house.
I think you meant to say, "Oppression isn't just about wearing a burkha," and you're quiet right that reactionary movements always seem to insist on the marginalization of women as incapable of having control of their own lives...
Underemployed- I had to laugh when I read your post; we're on the same page in so many ways. But the US is not a theocracy- even though there is certainly a large faction that doesn't seem to get that- and Afghanistan and Pakistan are. We can't change their form of government and it would be incredibly foolish, illegal, and morally wrong to attempt to do so. If Taliban leaders are honestly willing allow girls to be educated in schools, this is a huge concession and a turning point in their own history.
That was from the Catholic church, who believes Paul can say no wrong. Only problem is, they ignored the biggest part of what even he wrote so they could have what they wanted, control. In a lot of the early religions, women were the ones in charge, not men, and we all know how that goes over when a bunch of men want power. Will say I don't like the Catholic teachings on marriage, either, as they give the woman nothing and the man everything. Women finally got tired of being property, to be bought, sold, beaten, or killed at a man's whim. Finally, just in the last hundred years, western women began to legally be allowed to own property, carry their own money, vote, and hold a job without a man's blessings.
Peace Talks? hahahah
Sure... They have a history of saying things and then not doing it.... Sounds like a "Cop-out PR Piece" designed to justify the US pullout and allowing the Taliban to take over (not that I'm against the pull out, there's nothing that can be done there, Afgahnistan is F---ed).
I agree with ROY WILSON-336103. They can and will say anything to further their own agenda and do so without hesitation and impunity. Remember the old Star Trek bit about "Everything I say is a lie" so is that a lie too or am I lying about lying, or lying about lying about lying Blah-blahg-blah...
And is that really so different from some of our own non-Taliban political operatives? No kidding the Taliban is practicing PR here, but I also don't pretend that many on our own side aren't doing the same thing...
That is why another 13 year old girl was stoned the other day because 5 guys raped her. We are looking at animals here. And that will not change. Clinton is full of $hit. Why doesn't she do more of her dancing. Moving that fat a$$ around is as much as she can do at one time. Dance while others die and than help start another war that we should not be involved in.
By promoting access for girls to get an education, the Taliban has set in place a trap for all those girls. What will happen is that schools will be built and teachers recruited, then when thousands of girls are in school, the Taliban will attack and kill or maim them all, proving their point. Several years ago, while a girl's school was under construction, it was discovered that Taliban 'workers' had already had explosives and detonators installed into the concrete floor of the school in preparation for destroying it when the girls were all there and helpless to escape. That is what the Taliban is about. They are a band of murdering rapists who only want to kill people and control the drug trade wherever they can. Power and money is all they understand.
Obama just committed this country to 10 more years of aid and military support to this country which means he will be borrowing some where in the neighborhood of $10 trillion this country doesn't needs to borrow.
There's only one thing you can do with rabid animals and that is what the Taliban is, rabid animals.
Just exactly how did Obama do this, huh? DO you have a quote to back that up, or did you just pull that out of your tochis?...
The taliban islamists are a violent, extremist murdering bunch of lying, murdering scum. theres is a religion of intolerance, hatred and death. They hide behind their women and children.
I guess they don't like being targetted by blackhawks, drones and superior ground troops, so the lying pukes will say anything. While they sneak around in the dark and shoot our troops in the back.
You believe them? I don't.
Kill them all.
Agreed, I could give a rat's ass if they're loosening their stance about girls education or anything else; they're scum and deserve to be eradicated.
"Women are also a big part of our human society," <~~~~Yeah, right behind goats and camels.
Soooo... why do we still give such a corrupted group any monies at all when it is clearly a @!$%#ing waste!!