Taliban bin 0bama's call to "moderates"

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNew...E5291GQ20090310

Taliban say Obama's call on moderates "illogical"

2009/03/10 07:17

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban on Tuesday turned down as illogical U.S. President Barack Obama's bid to reach out to moderate elements of the insurgents, saying the exit of foreign troops was the only solution for ending the war.

Obama, in an interview with the New York Times, expressed an openness to adapting tactics in Afghanistan that had been used in Iraq to reach out to moderate elements there.

"This does not require any response or reaction for this is illogical," Qari Mohammad Yousuf, a purported spokesman for the insurgent group, told Reuters when asked if its top leader Mullah Mohammad Omar would make any comment about Obama's proposal.

"The Taliban are united, have one leader, one aim, one policy...I do not know why they are talking about moderate Taliban and what it means?,"

"If it means those who are not fighting and are sitting in their homes, then talking to them is meaningless. This really is surprising the Taliban."

In Iraq, the use of Sunni Muslim community leaders to employ their people to patrol their neighborhoods has been credited as one of the main reasons behind sharp falls in violence.

Obama did point out that compared to Iraq, the situation was more complex in Afghanistan, where nearly 70,000 foreign troops, 38,000 of them American, are due to be joined in coming months by another 17,000 U.S. soldiers.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has been leading Afghanistan since U.S.-led troops overthrew the Taliban in an invasion in 2001, welcomed Obama's proposal.

The number of foreign troops in Afghanistan has risen steadily since Taliban's ouster after they refused to hand over al Qaeda leaders responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States.

So has the level of Taliban attacks against the government and foreign forces, prompting Obama to term Afghanistan as a top foreign policy priority for his new administration.

Some Western politicians and military officers now say the war cannot be won by military means alone and a solution will have to involve some form of reconciliation.

Yousuf said expulsion of foreign troops was the only solution for Afghanistan's spiraling violence.

"Afghans know better how to decide about their destiny," he replied when asked if the Taliban were willing to hold talks with Karzai's government should and when the troops leave.

(Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by David Fox)

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Is that just, "No," or is it more like, "HELL, NO!!!!"

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Is that just, "No," or is it more like, "HELL, NO!!!!"

No, that's Will Smith

[Peikko 1,575]

It's a 'if I get caught even considering this idea by those ideologically on the right of me, I'm likely to have a very foreshortened life, so I think I will play my cards very close to my chest'.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

It's a 'if I get caught even considering this idea by those ideologically on the right of me, I'm likely to have a very foreshortened life, so I think I will play my cards very close to my chest'.

Actually, Taliban's (and AQ's) approach is "you're not worthy to be considered one of us unless you become as devout/fanatical as 'revered leader' (Omar of Taliban, Osama of AQ)".

To find how much "to right" other members of these orgs are, the difference would be microscopic (or electron-microscopic).

[Peikko 1,575]

You could be right. Seriously though, there is a point at which one has to negotiate with what is there, or you are left with an attempt to annihilate which is never very easy and rarely effective.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

You could be right. Seriously though, there is a point at which one has to negotiate with what is there, or you are left with an attempt to annihilate which is never very easy and rarely effective.

Unfortunately, the Taliban are of a type that negotiations will only delay (if that) their attempt to annihilate--as they have shown in FATA and more recently in Swat/Malakand.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Just ask russia how difficult it is to fight the Afghans

[EasyRider 3]

It's a 'if I get caught even considering this idea by those ideologically on the right of me, I'm likely to have a very foreshortened life, so I think I will play my cards very close to my chest'.

Well they have to thump their chest to appear strong internationally. And by "negotiating" Iraq style, they mean paying people off. Of course the president of Afghanistan is supportive. Him and his cronies will make 10s of millions of dollars in the process while the poor in Afghanistan continue to be slaughtered by these sick bastards.

Just ask russia how difficult it is to fight the Afghans

Yeah, with help from the U.S. Damn the Cold War.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Gen. Petraeus Supports Talks With Taliban

Morning Edition, October 30, 2008 · Gen. David Petraeus, who once led U.S. troops in Iraq, becomes head of the U.S. Central Command Friday. That position includes responsibility for the war in Afghanistan. Petraeus already has endorsed reaching out to less-extreme Taliban elements. He also is expected to send more troops and air power to support the war in Afghanistan.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=96311171

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

That wacky Petraeus

[one...two...tree 2,762]

That wacky Petraeus

Betray us?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

That wacky Petraeus

Betray us?

I see Steve's buddies have not pulled down this website yet:

https://pol.moveon.org/petraeus.html

Edited March 10, 2009 by Mister_Bill

[one...two...tree 2,762]

That wacky Petraeus

Betray us?

I see Steve's buddies have not pulled down this website yet:

https://pol.moveon.org/petraeus.html

Your sarcasm detector isn't working this morning I take it?

Edited March 10, 2009 by Mister Fancypants

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Gen. Petraeus Supports Talks With Taliban

Morning Edition, October 30, 2008 · Gen. David Petraeus, who once led U.S. troops in Iraq, becomes head of the U.S. Central Command Friday. That position includes responsibility for the war in Afghanistan. Petraeus already has endorsed reaching out to less-extreme Taliban elements. He also is expected to send more troops and air power to support the war in Afghanistan.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=96311171

Unfortunately, it shows he knows squat about the Taliban--which by definition is devoid of less-extreme elements.