US open to talks with most Taliban, VP Biden says

[bigtree]

Tue, 10 Mar 2009

Brussels - NATO should seek "pragmatic solutions" to its war in Afghanistan, and these include direct talks with the Taliban, most of whom are only involved in the insurgency for the money, US Vice

To achieve "clear and achievable goals" such as "an Afghanistan that is not a haven for terror and is able to sustain itself," NATO should search for "pragmatic solutions," Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday.

Asked whether this might involve direct negotiations with the insurgents, as suggested by US President Barack Obama over the weekend, Biden said: "Five per cent of the Taliban is incorrigible, not susceptible to anything other than being defeated. Another 25 per cent or so are not quite sure, in my view, (about) the intensity of their commitment to the insurgency.

"And roughly 70 per cent are involved because of the money," Biden said.

Noting that deals with moderate Sunnis had already achieved results in Iraq, Biden said the idea of trying to win over moderate elements of the insurgency was one "worth exploring."

At the same time, any negotiations would ultimately have to be initiated by the Afghan government, and should not in any case undermine its authority, Biden said.


http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/259243,us-open-to-talks-with-most-taliban-biden-says--summary.html

[ShortnFiery]

1. Here we go again? Time to declare "victory" and get the hell out of the ENTIRE Middle East. n/t

[MadBadger]

2. Seems to me like we should open up talks with Hamas as well too.

[acmavm]

3. YAY! Time to play Let's Make a Deal with murderous mysoginists

who will kill rather than see the girls of Afganistan have an education.

My kind of guy. I'm SURE they'll be some real straight shooters (in more ways than one).

P.S. I hate Joe Biden anyway. At least he's not promoting the credit card companies or a new bankrutpcy bill. Let him sell the women and girls of Afganistan down the river instead of the American people. Maybe he'll stand up for them with the same snarky nasty attitude that he treated Anita Hill to.

:sarcasm:

[bigtree]

4. which part was sarcasm?

[KharmaTrain]

5. Interesting Events Going On...

The biggest mistake President Obama can make in Afghanistan is not having some sort of end game. It can't be some imperialistic version of "victory" with Karzai running some corporate-industrial state. History says a lot different as invaders from Alexander the Great to the Leonid Brezhnev and Gorbachov would learn.

You have the Pakistani army having "won" a big victory in taking control of some of the border areas, a diplomatic fence mending mission by Secretary of State Clinton and now this overture (which means there's already negotiations underway) to come up with some structure to determine an end game to US military involvement in that country. Something that will create enough stability to remove the "threats" from the region and enable President Obama to avoid widening our military role...and possibly see a light at the end of this long tunnel to the removal of those troops.

I'm curious how things develop here...at least we have an administration that is not ignoring this war and working hard to engage all the major political players in the region.

[Marrah_G]

6. ARFGHHHHHHHHHHHH

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[bigtree]

7. .