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| India-Pakistan |
| Obama mulls reaching out to moderate Taliban |
| 2009-03-07 |
| U.S. President Barack Obama is open to the idea of reaching out to moderate elements of the Taliban, The New York Times reported on Saturday. In an interview with the newspaper published on its website, Obama said that some of the U.S. success in Iraq involved reaching out to Islamic fundamentalists who had been alienated by the tactics of al Qaeda in Iraq. "There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and the Pakistani region," he said. "But the situation in Afghanistan is, if anything, more complex." Obama, who last month approved the deployment of 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan as part of an effort to stabilize the country, had suggested before becoming president that he was open to talks with more moderate Taliban leaders. Insurgent violence is at its highest in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001. Obama, who sees the Afghan conflict as a more pressing concern than the unpopular war in Iraq, is trying to convince other NATO nations to boost troop commitments to the international operation |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #9 I'll ape Mickey Kaus here. "Obama's not as bad as Carter. He's worse!" |
| Posted by: Raj 2009-03-07 22:25 |
| #8 Heck, just send Shrillary. She is supposed to be our chief negotiator. The negotiating is now done by Obama's people; the SecState is being reduced to the server of broad-policy-on-a-stick and Chief Hand-Shaker. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-03-07 22:03 |
| #7 lets just give them obama, it's a win win situtation |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-03-07 20:40 |
| #6 On a more serious note .... WTF? I'm not so sure about Bambi's Iraq reference, either. While enough happened that some small example of everything probably happened, "Islamic fundamentalist" Iraqis were not the key swing actors. Splitting your enemy and sowing distrust are always called for, but .... In A'stan, the innate lack of resolve or interest of Bambi and his ilk may actually help lead to a non-catastrophic outcome, if we keep our sights low, very low. Then again, lack of resolve is by far the most important flaw they bring to the game (even the clearest-eyed and gutsiest CINC since Truman, Dubya, managed to convey lack of resolve to most players in Iraq for a few years before snapping out of it). |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2009-03-07 20:38 |
| #5 Klingon, Barb. See: "Lt. Worf" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-03-07 19:57 |
| #4 Heck, just send Shrillary. She is supposed to be our chief negotiator. I wonder what the reset button she gives them would say? |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2009-03-07 19:37 |
| #3 That would be one way to get her horse face behind a burkha, Frank.... |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-03-07 19:31 |
| #2 I'd suggest sending Michelle over to negotiate |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-03-07 18:47 |
| #1 "moderate taliban" makes as much sense at "competent Obama" |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-03-07 18:38 |