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Afghanistan/South Asia
Afghans say Taliban fighters could surrender
2005-01-15
Taliban fighters could abandon their insurgency in Afghanistan as a result of peace talks under way between local commanders and President Hamid Karzai's government, a provincial governor has said.
Some of the could, I suppose. I doubt those in Peshawar and Quetta will...
Three years after US-led forces invaded Afghanistan, Karzai and his US backers hope to coax lower-level Taliban fighters back to normal life, leaving senior commanders and al-Qaida leaders isolated. Tribal leaders and regional commanders are acting as intermediaries between the Taliban and Karzai's government in the southeastern provinces of Paktia, Khost and Paktika, said Paktia governor Assad Allah Wafa. "We have more than hundreds of Taliban who want to return to their normal lives in Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces," Wafa said. In return, the tribal chiefs and local officials want the US ambassador in Kabul, Zalmay Khalilzad, to urge US forces not to harass Taliban members who quit the insurgency, he said. "The government is talking to them through tribal leaders and we are demanding Khalilzad use his influence and propose to the American military not to detain or harass those Taliban who plan to stop fighting the government," Wafa said. No Taliban official could immediately be contacted for comment, but Taliban spokesman Abdul Latifi Hakimi said earlier this week the group was committed to resisting Karzai's government and US and Nato troops in Afghanistan.
Posted by:Fred

#4  .com: Along for the ride is a very interesting way of putting it, heh.

Not everyone's a true-blue holy warrior. Getting on the bandwagon is something with an ancient history - the idea is to go with a winner, which some of these people thought, wrongly, would be the Taliban. They believed their own propaganda - and the Western media, which held that Uncle Sam would run at even the hint of deaths in combat. Now that they've taken their licks, they're no longer as convinced of their invincibility. If they can be re-integrated into the community, it's best for the Afghan military and our boys if they hand in their weapons - the fewer enemies we have to fight, the less of our people will have to die.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2005-01-15 7:11:27 PM  

#3  Hmmmm, I'll accept a miniscule measure of that logic, thanks. Along for the ride is a very interesting way of putting it, heh.

The unacceptable part, of course, is that you do not know if the good faith gesture will be repaid in kind until it's too late. Sorry, but a good Afghan soldier or a NATO soldier (presumption: good) is worth more than the whole lot that would follow the Taliban, especially if taking up arms in their cause, IMHO. No lower or more insane and barbaric organization has ever existed on the face of this planet, IMHO, so I have no regard for them, their lives, or their proffered "plans" - which is a load of shit until it becomes reality, no?

Just my reasoning behind the first comment. ;-)
Posted by: .com   2005-01-15 3:05:55 PM  

#2  .com: Amnesties and good intentions are usually repaid with deadly perfidy.

Not always. It depends on the number of true-blue holy warriors vs those who were along for the ride. Accepting surrenders is nothing new - many territories and leaders throughout history have surrendered and served their new political masters without complaint unless they were specifically mistreated. This is one of those trust but verify situations, where their surrenders must be accepted only if they include good faith gestures such as information about other guerrillas, weapons caches and funding sources.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2005-01-15 2:49:30 PM  

#1  "The government is talking to them through tribal leaders and we are demanding Khalilzad use his influence and propose to the American military not to detain or harass those Taliban who plan to stop fighting the government," Wafa said.

The insanity is a way of life for those who would call themselves followers of the Taliban, so it will never be more than taqiyya for dummies. Based upon experience and observation, I'd say they will have to continue dying until there are no more. Amnesties and good intentions are usually repaid with deadly perfidy. Sorry there, Wafa, I know you mean to spout political bullshit well.
Posted by: .com   2005-01-15 2:20:10 PM  

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