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Obama Ponders Outreach to Elements of the Taliban

Are you kidding me? The Taliban are nuts! Extend a hand and they'll bite it off

Iran yes, Taliban no.
 
In no way should Obama even attempt to reach out to the Taliban. This is still the same 'political movement' who harbored Bin Laden and refused to turn him over to U.S forces prior to the war in 2001. This is still the same organizaton that defaced thousands of years old religous statues because they didn't fall in line with their 12th century ass-backwards ideology. Still the same organization that rode around in the back of pick-ups beating women with wooden sticks who showed ankle skin. Still the same organization the made political prisoners jump off concrete 'diving boards' into empty pools. The list of atrocities goes on and on.

Any attempt to negotiate with elements of the Taliban will be seen as a victory by the jihadists. The Taliban should be treated just like Al-Qaeda and the Bush doctrine of 'We will make no distinction between the terrorists and the countries who harbor them' adhered to.

I love the analogy the article attempts to make by comparing an outreach to 'moderate Taliban' (which is an oxymoron in itself) to that of reaching out to moderate Sunni and Shiites. The Sunni Awakening that occured in Al-Anbar was simply those religious leaders getting fed up with the AQI bullying and they finally 'awoke' to the futility of the insurgency. It was a way for both sides to save face and for the Sunni's to have a way to take part in the government that they knew was going to shape their future.

The thought of them bringing in warlords like Gulbeddin Hekmatyar, also known as the 'Vampire' for the way he used to drain Russian soldiers blood while they were still alive, after he would rip their eyeballs out, sickens me. How else other than failure can this be looked upon when you make an attempt to negotiate with warlords who 2 years ago Predator drones were attempting to kill.

Obama came into office spouting the rhetoric of a 'surge in Afghanistan', in his attempt to avoid becoming another casuality in the 'graveyard of empires' it looks like he is going to fold his hand before it is even dealt. Another wonderful foreign policy move by the Obama administration.
 
Laila said:
Are you kidding me? The Taliban are nuts! Extend a hand and they'll bite it off

Iran yes, Taliban no.
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Yeah, but he's an experience community organizer. :lol:
 
American said:
Yeah, but he's an experience community organizer. :lol:
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You failed to answer the question at hand, instead you provided unnecessary commentary on Obama's history.

I am normally for talking and not shooting, but what the hell is a "moderate Taliban" like? They won't kill you as hard? They don't hate you as much? They will limit their oppression of women? They will steal from the super poor and give to the super rich?
Not a good idea.
 
Arch Enemy said:
You failed to answer the question at hand, instead you provided unnecessary commentary on Obama's history.

I am normally for talking and not shooting, but what the hell is a "moderate Taliban" like? They won't kill you as hard? They don't hate you as much? They will limit their oppression of women? They will steal from the super poor and give to the super rich?
Not a good idea.
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Maybe his joke had more to do with Iran than the Taliban? A little edgy are we today?
 
P/N said:
Maybe his joke had more to do with Iran than the Taliban? A little edgy are we today?
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It was in reference to both. It was just a general statement. I'm always edgy.
 
Talk to the Taliban? Yeah, right. You can't talk to extremists. You can only kill them (and pray they will see enlightnment after they are killed :roll:). (sorry to say that, but it is the truth)
 
American said:
Yeah, but he's an experience community organizer. :lol:
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Your post is kind of like being cocky after being beat up by a 6 year old. I mean...yeah he's a community organizer. Ha-ha. But he still beat the Republicans, Sarah Palin and John McCain like drums. 300+ electoral votes was it? ;)
 
Divde and conquer there is some taliban who see things as a purely local battle and those who see it as a worldwide conflict we need to get them to turn on each other.
 
mikhail said:
Divde and conquer there is some taliban who see things as a purely local battle and those who see it as a worldwide conflict we need to get them to turn on each other.
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That is exactly the rationale behind the Pakistanis giving up the Swat Valley to the Taliban.

It's the same strategy we used in Iraq to gain peace.

Afghanistan is unwinnable any other way.
 
Arch Enemy said:
You failed to answer the question at hand, instead you provided unnecessary commentary on Obama's history.

I am normally for talking and not shooting, but what the hell is a "moderate Taliban" like? They won't kill you as hard? They don't hate you as much? They will limit their oppression of women? They will steal from the super poor and give to the super rich?
Not a good idea.
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Well I merely pointing out that Obama has the experience to deal with these thugs.
 
American said:
Well I merely pointing out that Obama has the experience to deal with these thugs.
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If you're going to compare the Taliban to thugs in America then you are just as blind as I thought you were.
 
Hatuey said:
Your post is kind of like being cocky after being beat up by a 6 year old. I mean...yeah he's a community organizer. Ha-ha. But he still beat the Republicans, Sarah Palin and John McCain like drums. 300+ electoral votes was it? ;)
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Whether or not people feel for his line of BS, he's president now not McCain. So his "experience" or lack of is relevant to his decisions.

Yay, he won the elections. He's still a schmuck and is starting to approach GWB dumb in his policies. Stick to what he's doing now.
 
Keorythe said:
Whether or not people feel for his line of BS, he's president now not McCain. So his "experience" or lack of is relevant to his decisions.

Yay, he won the elections. He's still a schmuck and is starting to approach GWB dumb in his policies. Stick to what he's doing now.
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I suppose Bush 43 has already shown and Obama is showing that an Ivy League degree does not a good president make. We know this in Taiwan as well as we have a Harvard Law grad as our president.
 
The Awakening movement is much different than what we have in Afghanistan. You had a number of self determination groups who were anti-American but wanted to rebuild the country. Both sides of the fence were offering resources, money, and training. However, the wanton destruction caused by Al Queda didn't go over well with them and they grudgingly decided to go over to the American side who avoided civilian casaulties and infrastructure damage as much as possible. No kids getting beheaded or mosques being blown up.

Afghanistan has no such setup. You've got the citizens and the Taliban. There are no militias with the same kind of local strength that you had in Iraq. Those have already been stamped out and absorbed by the Taliban. The Taliban has also had its roots dug in deeply for a long time in the area. On top of that the local government isn't nearly as recognized by the local population. In some areas the name of the president is pretty much unknown due to the nomadic culture.

Defeating the Taliban is going to require that we train the local army effectively but also stamping out the Taliban to the point that the locals can effectively fight them without being at such a disadvantage. Gaining support isn't going to be as easy as it was in Iraq. The locals don't see their nation as being in shambles nor do they want to put anything back together. We're going to have to do alot of this on our own.
 
Hatuey said:
Your post is kind of like being cocky after being beat up by a 6 year old. I mean...yeah he's a community organizer. Ha-ha. But he still beat the Republicans, Sarah Palin and John McCain like drums. 300+ electoral votes was it? ;)
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Anything on the topic?
 
Where does one begin negotiations with people whos position is your death?
 
Cilogy said:
I read a CNN article somewhere that said Patreus actually used this tactic in Iraq.

Its a bad idea.
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It is not a bad idea.
 
bhkad said:
Some of them are only concerned with killing us if we are in their territory.
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But they are more than willing to harbor those that would do us harm. And thier human rights atrocities alone should give one pause to giving them an equal seat at the discussion table.,
 
I believe at this time in history, negotiating and allying oursselves with savages like these is not the best move.
 
Reverend_Hellh0und said:
I believe at this time in history, negotiating and allying oursselves with savages like these is not the best move.
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I'm with you in spirit but the practicalities of the situation dictate that we will NEVER make Afghanistan a warm and fuzzy place for Americans. Sharia law is as deeply entrenched there as anywhere on Earth. We need to define what victory means in that context.
 
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