Article

2020-04-02 Afghanistan

Start The Negotiations, End The Afghan War Now

Get out of there already. It's a no-win situation that is ruinously expensive. The only winning move is not to play.
[War.onTheRocks] The two of us witnessed the signing of the agreement between the United States and the Taliban in Doha on Feb. 29. Since then, we have observed delay upon delay in implementation as the novel coronavirus pandemic outpaces armed conflict as a source of global death and destruction.

Today, representatives of the Taliban were supposed to arrive at Bagram air base to monitor the release of up to 5,000 Taliban detainees as a confidence-building measure brokered by Qatar and the United States. Members of the Taliban had committed themselves to "start intra-Afghan negotiations with Afghan sides" by March 10 in the belief that their detainees would be released. In return, the Taliban had promised to release up to 1,000 detainees of those it holds. The Afghan government, which was not involved in the agreement, was reluctant to release captured fighters who might return to violence, leading to the Taliban's refusal to start talks. The government did not announce its delegation for the negotiations until March 27. The spread of the pandemic also hindered talks as travel and meetings risked spreading the coronavirus.

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Posted by Herb McCoy 2020-04-02 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11139 views ] Top
File under: Taliban

#1 Then you negotiate with the masters behind the Taliban - Pakistan. To use NYC lingo - make them an offer they can't refuse. A quick short very violent lethal war with little or nothing in the outcome for its rulers.

Posted by Procopius2k 2020-04-02 02:14|| 2020-04-02 02:14|| Front Page Top

#2 ^Wouldn't China be more than happy to take over from Pakistan?

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-04-02 06:33|| 2020-04-02 06:33|| Front Page Top

#3 Afghanistan is a money pit, moreover, it is wasteful of our military. Either we use the hi-tech equivalent of a William Tecumseh Sherman approach or get out.

Posted by JohnQC 2020-04-02 09:33|| 2020-04-02 09:33|| Front Page Top

#4 /\ But, but, but what will happen with the Klingon 'Endless Wars' business model ?

Posted by Besoeker 2020-04-02 09:36|| 2020-04-02 09:36|| Front Page Top

#5 We got to pay the two trillion dollars c-19 war bill.

Posted by Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2020-04-02 11:23|| 2020-04-02 11:23|| Front Page Top

#6 Negotiating with the Taliban will work about as well as negotiating with the North Vietnamese did. The only way to negotiate is from a position of strength and that remains our current position there only as long as we are willing to keep squandering blood and treasure to stay there. It isn't worth it. Stop talking and get the hell outta there.

Posted by Abu Uluque 2020-04-02 13:35|| 2020-04-02 13:35|| Front Page Top

#7 Leave.

If they shelter another bin Laden who does what he did, nuke them.

Afghans are a net loss to the human race.

Posted by charger 2020-04-02 15:38|| 2020-04-02 15:38|| Front Page Top

#8 The best and only way to 'negotiate', begins with an unconditional, sudden pullout. Airlift your resources and men overnight, destroy or dismantle the rest. End all negotiations, declare that 'The US of A recognizes the legitimate elected Govt of Ashraf Ghani, and wishes him well', and that's it.

Fire Zalmay Khalilzad and pretend there is no such thing as an Afghanistan for the next four years. Ignore the anti-Trump books he will write and let him fade. Let the Afghan government cry and stomp, do not respond. Only deny all aid to Pakistain, and cultivate autonomous local assets to work with Baloch, Muhajir and Pashtun groups instead. A rotation of the usual Pak based assets is also advisable, since by now their activities will have become colored by local politics and they'd be hard pressed to change tack or see the big picture. In short, change the policy from supporting Pak in the WOT, to indirectly supporting various secessionists against Pak. They'll have to try and use the taliban against their domestic problems, and the Afghan bureaucracy may get a fighting chance and time to consolidate power. You may even earn profits by letting your companies sell small arms to the Afghan government; and they can sell their lands piecemeal to China for the funds, but they must pay, no loans. Do not worry. China will never be able to actually put a base in this graveyard of empires.

Watch as the experiment develops. Trump will have won the elections by then with a clean sweep. The next term you can spend in consolidating your judiciary and HoR if possible. I think it will usher in a complete breakdown of the entire ummah into an era of mutual suspicion, murders and brown-on-brown actions uncontrollable by even their Leftist benefactors, or the usual holy men. The sunni world will implode and create new, novel forms of terror and mayhem against each other. This should also help expose the and drive wedges between your entrenched islamists and Leftists.

The state of Pak will feature prominent in the ensuing chaos among Asian muslims, as taliban blunder about in Pak, fighting with everyone from IS-K to surprisingly well armed Baloch and Pashtun tribes. Because Pakistan is the petri dish where the taliban are born. Taliban wouldn't know whether to chart a route or wipe their arse with a map, if it weren't for the ISI who train them. In time, other Asian nations shall have to enter the fray to control the chaos. China will sink billions in their projects along the OBOR thingy, and suffer casualties they never expected.

In time, Trump could negotiate a peace between Taliban and Pakistain, or Taliban and China ! Who knows ? The prospects only get better from there.

Or, you could just keep attending these white table-cloth meetings in Qatari hotels hoping for something unique while your men and assets are killed daily. I think it's an ego thing, with the pentagon and Trump's advisors. You're just allowing the Afghan and Pakistan sunnis to con you for the sake of hubris. This intense need to prove to yourself, that America can actually bring about peace in utterly alien societies... 'we just have to apply the right amount of KA-BOOM in the right spots, boys'. These idiots will gladly dedicate more lives and money to another decade of the same.

Posted by Dron66046 2020-04-02 15:41|| 2020-04-02 15:41|| Front Page Top

#9 The only reason for anyone to negotiate with the Taliban, who taqqiya as easily as they breathe, is to tag them and follow them home for future eradication. But that is a good reason — one hopes that’s what our guys have been doing.

Posted by trailing wife 2020-04-02 16:16|| 2020-04-02 16:16|| Front Page Top

#10 deny all aid to Pakistain

Should have done that, what, 70 years ago?

Posted by Abu Uluque 2020-04-02 16:34|| 2020-04-02 16:34|| Front Page Top

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