You have commented 358 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Afghanistan
Karzai welcomes US 'Taliban not our enemy' remarks
2012-01-01
[Dawn] Afghanistan's Caped President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
 Saturday welcomed US Vice President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden
The former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body...
's remarks that the Taliban "per se is not our enemy".

Biden's comments to Newsweek magazine last week caused uproar in the US, which has been fighting a 10-year war against the Taliban-led insurgency, but reflected an increasing focus on finding a political settlement.

"We are very happy that America has announced that Taliban are not their enemy. This will bring peace and stability to the people of Afghanistan,"Karzai said during a ceremony in Kabul.

Karzai has agreed that if the United States wants to set up a Taliban address in Qatar to enable peace talks he will not stand in the way, as long as Afghanistan is involved in the process.

The September liquidation of Karzai's peace envoy, former president Burhanuddin Rabbani
... the gentlemanly murdered legitimate president of Afghanistan...
, appeared to have derailed any prospects of progress in talks.

But recent unconfirmed reports suggest the US could be open to a deal which includes the transfer of Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay.

In the interview with Newsweek Biden emphasised the need for the Taliban to cut ties with al-Qaeda.

"We are in a position where if Afghanistan ceased and desisted from being a haven for people who do damage and have as a target the United States of America and their allies, that's good enough," he said.

As it pushes for a political settlement, the Afghan government has changed its tone towards the turbans, referring to "terrorist" rather than "Taliban" attacks.

But many Afghans fear if the Taliban is allowed into mainstream politics, their influence will see the undermining of human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
 and freedoms.
Posted by:Fred

#11  Did Biden REALLY say that?

My goodness, he's a blithering idiot.

Could someone stick a sock in his mouth next time a news microphone is put in front of him?
Posted by: Bill Clinton   2012-01-01 23:03  

#10  "Who need enemies with friends like these?"

What friends, CU?

Oh, wait - were you talking about the Talibunnies?
Posted by: Barbara   2012-01-01 14:33  

#9  Who need enemies with friends like these?
Posted by: Cluque Untervehr3229   2012-01-01 13:20  

#8  "__________ not our enemy."
Posted by: Cluque Untervehr3229   2012-01-01 13:19  

#7  Quite an achievement, the Per Se's are almost as dangerous as the Triple Dip Cone's.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2012-01-01 12:00  

#6  Obama and Biden, just keep telling the Muslim nuts that it is okay to keep doing what you are doing. That should make things much better.
Posted by: whatadeal   2012-01-01 11:14  

#5  I'm sure there is historical precedent here, somewhere. For example, maybe Henry A. Wallace, "Ol' Frank" Roosevelt's second VP, at some point might have said that "The Nazis are not our enemy" or "The Japanese are not our enemy".

Or maybe during the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK's VP, LBJ might have said that "The Soviet Union is not our enemy."

Or maybe not.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2012-01-01 08:58  

#4  Translation of Biden's remarks:
'9/11 is forgiven and forgotten!'

Why should a nuclear Iran then fear the consequences of sponsoring massive attacks on the West?
Why should a nuclear North Korea?

Nuts!
Posted by: Unairong Gleck4892   2012-01-01 07:29  

#3  Brains.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2012-01-01 04:26  

#2  Keep yourself protected and under cover, men, the Taliban may not be the enemy, but someone shooting at you!
Posted by: whatadeal   2012-01-01 02:42  

#1  "We are in a position where if Afghanistan ceased and desisted from being a haven for people who do damage and have as a target the United States of America and their allies, that's good enough," Biden said.

Yes, as if we needed more proof...
Posted by: tu3031   2012-01-01 00:55  

00:00