‘Cut us a deal and we’ll ditch al-Qaeda’ (1)
Down a rutted street in a quiet suburb of south Kabul lives a man the CIA once locked in a cage for months as an enemy combatant.
Seven years later, Mullah Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil, 38, who served as foreign minister when the Taliban ran Afghanistan, may prove to be President Barack Obama’s best chance of ending the gruelling war in Afghanistan – by enabling negotiations with America’s enemies.
Such a prospect would have seemed far-fetched only a year ago; but now, as Mr Obama grapples with difficult Afghanistan decisions, faced with a faltering Kabul government and a spreading insurgency, all options are on the table.
Some of them may seem distinctly unsavoury for a president elected as a liberal idealist – in particular the notion of doing deals with Taliban commanders, and empowering former warlords and tribal leaders who have blood on their hands and in many cases hatred in their hearts.
But America’s desperation to regain the initiative in an increasingly unpopular war has already produced some remarkable changes, and uncomfortable moral compromises are now on the agenda.
[More]
Updates:
12:41 pm EDT, October 18th, 2009 — White House: No Troop Decision Until Afghan Election is Resolved
Popularity: 10% [?]
Male, retired and the rest is of little interest to anyone. The site keeps me busy and if it helps others to stay abreast of daily events then my time is well spent.
mike Says:
What an opportunity for Barack Obama to enlist Henry Kissinger to stage the Paris Peace Talks Redux. We could have peace with honor. All Nato troops could return with their heads held high and that is the most important thing.
There have been many references comparing Afghanistan to Vietnam. Is Afghanistan going to end as successfully? We have a chance let us not pass it up.
(sunday morning sarcasm)
mid island mike
Posted on October 18th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Cunctator Says:
As some of us have been saying now for years, Afghanistan is not winnable, the NATO casualties are simply wasted lives, and the governments that sent them there — after the overthrow of the Taliban back in 2002 — have been criminally negligent.
Posted on October 18th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
beentheredonethat Says:
In return, he says, the Taliban would promise not to allow Afghanistan to be used to plan attacks on America
…… unlike most religions, within Islam there are certain provisions under which lying and deceiving is not simply tolerated, but actually encouraged. In his book “The spirit of Islam,” Afif A. Tabbarah writes in page 247, “Lying is not always bad, to be sure; there are times when telling a lie is more profitable and better for the general welfare, and for the settlement of conciliation among people, than telling the truth. “
So the Taliban will promise to be good, problem solved and we’ll all be able to go home and live happily ever after?
Posted on October 18th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Joe Says:
As if this guy has the power to stand by his ‘word’. I don’t believe a word he says and even if I believed him I still doubt that he could ban al-Qaeda even if he tried.
Posted on October 18th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
beentheredonethat Says:
I wouldn’t be surprised if Chamberlain, er I mean Obama literally leaps at this excuse to substantially or completely pull out of Afghanistan. If because of his naivety he falls for this ruse the west will pay a very heavy price and it’ll be in blood. It could easily be right here because Canada is on al-Qaeda’s target list. We know this because they have told us we are. There is only one way to achieve lasting peace with these faux religion genuine ideological homicidal killers and that is to wipe them from the face of the earth like the plague on humanity they are. Most NATO country members should be ashamed for their lack of committment to eradicating this sub-human culture. If NATO truly lived up to their all for one and one for all pledge it’d be over in a month.
Posted on October 18th, 2009 at 4:58 pm