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| Afghanistan |
| US advised to seek political accommodation with Taliban |
| 2006-09-19 |
| The United States was advised on Monday to identify common ground and seek political accommodation with the Taliban and other insurgents to bring an end to violence in Afghanistan. Writing in the New York Times, Greg Mills, who was special adviser to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan from May until this month, said that the Taliban and their allies cannot be beaten by military means alone. “Perhaps then, the moment has come to talk to the Taliban and other insurgents,” Mills said. It should be understood that nearly half of Afghanistan’s population is Pashtun, which has proved more resistant than the country’s other main groups, the Tajhiks, the Hazaras and the Uzbeks, he added. For all these groups, the Americans and other NATO members are “visitors, probably temporary and increasingly unwelcome, like the British colonisers and Soviets”. Mills pointed out that although the Taliban came to be loathed by most non-Pashtuns, it was important to remember that initially their efforts to restore security after the chaotic collapse of communist rule in the mid-1990s were applauded. Some Afghans maintain that it was only after non-Afghans, especially Arabs, began to exert control over the movement in the late 1990s that the Taliban became sinister and brutal. “Memories of their early role might explain why many Afghans are prepared to turn a blind eye to their resurgence.” Mills argued that it was important to remember that the insurgency consists of more than just the Taliban. To describe the anti-coalition forces in Afghanistan as a single entity was to ignore their important differences, which can only “hamper our ability to negotiate”, he said. He pointed out that the Taliban were aligned to the Pashtun ethnic cause and their alliance with Al Qaeda seemed more a marriage of convenience than ideology, given the Afghans’ mistrust of the Arabs. Afghanistan, he emphasised, was driven by ethnic divisions and within each group in the insurgency, tribe, clan or family membership often transcended other loyalties. These competing objectives provide an opportunity to split and co-opt these groups, even as “we seek militarily to deny them sanctuary in Afghanistan and Pakistan”. This is not possible if all of them are lumped together as “terrorists”, he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #16 With the Taleban, nothing but the Korben Dallas School of Negotiating™ will work. KORBEN: Mind if I go? I'm an excellent negotiator. COP 1: Uh... Sure, go ahead. Korben gets ready. COP 1: We're sending someone in who's authorized to negotiate. [INTERIOR OF POLICE STATION] Korben walks quickly into the room, heads straight for Akanit, raises his gun and puts a bullet through his head. KORBEN: Anyone else want to negotiate? COP 2: (to another Cop) Where'd he learn to negotiate like that? |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-19 16:54 |
| #15 Greg Mills appears to be one of those State Department bureaucrats that believes everything can be solved through negotiation, and war is not an option. He should be sent to southern Lebanon to carry an Israeli flag in the next Hezbollah parade. He might learn something. Probably be too late, though... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-09-19 16:51 |
| #14 Negotiations are for people of goodwill and reasonableness. The Taliban have neither. You issue ultimatums and then immediately follow up with decisive action appropriate to achieve your goals. THAT is how you negotiate with the likes of the Taliban, et al. What has Greg Mills been smoking or ingesting? |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2006-09-19 15:11 |
| #13 I had to extract and quote your comment at my website, Oldspook. like the writer: they are NOT people of faith, so they have no concept of how faith can drive a person's life, for better or worse. What flyover said: Word. Not only word, but illumination as well. My thanks. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2006-09-19 14:35 |
| #12 And not by Shimon Peres. |
| Posted by: Yasser 2006-09-19 12:58 |
| #11 Dear Greg, If I were God for a day, one of my first acts would be to take you back to 9/11, and tie you to the mast on WTC Tower one just before it collapsed. Nuttin but love for ya, Mcse-god for a day-geek1 |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-09-19 12:47 |
| #10 Sure. Send "Special Adviser" Greg in to talk to them. All by himself. Don't worry, Greg, they'll listen to you. And if they don't, I'm sure we'll see the video... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-09-19 11:44 |
| #9 LOL, OS. You always candy-coat stuff, LOL. WORD. *applause* |
| Posted by: flyover 2006-09-19 10:34 |
| #8 The problem is the writer does NOT understand the fundamentalists. The ONLY avialble positions for any non-Islamic opponent, in the view of the Talib, is either footstool (subservience/dhimmitude) or rug (you die and they take your stuff). These are not typical marxist or drug-lord rebels, these rre peopel on a mission from God (in thier minds). They consider death a reward, not something to be avoided. There is no negotiation. Thats the big problem with liberals, left and others on that side, like the writer: they are NOT people of faith, so they have no concept of how faith can drive a person's life, for better or worse. And in the case of Islamic fundamentalists, it is far worse -they have distorted and warped things to where only violence is preached. We are not trying to contain Stalin, we are fighting something as elemental as fire. The only way to beat it is to extinguish it. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-09-19 10:20 |
| #7 Better red than dead, eh, Greg? |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2006-09-19 10:06 |
| #6 To describe the anti-coalition forces in Afghanistan as a single entity was to ignore their important differences, which can only “hamper our ability to negotiate”, he said. See, here's the problem. Greg thinks we're there to negotiate -- we're not. We're there to kill as many Taliban as we can. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-09-19 05:27 |
| #5 Dear Greg, Bite my crank. Twice. Love & Kisses, |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-19 03:57 |
| #4 The unstated premise is that most Pashtun's support the Taliban. When they are shown to be the weak horse, Pashtun support will decline. That point clearly hasn't been reached yet. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-09-19 03:19 |
| #3 Remember 9/11 you dumb piece of dog shit? No, hell No, never. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2006-09-19 01:08 |
| #2 How about we kill a |
| Posted by: Fleash Greaper4919 2006-09-19 00:24 |
| #1 Dear Greg: "Accomodations will be possible when the Taliban decide to fast forward to mdern civilization. Until then, FOAD." Love and Kisses, Uncle Sam |
| Posted by: USN,Ret 2006-09-19 00:19 |