Obama -- Afghanistan - Deal with Taliban - Some thoughts.
8 years and still no progress in Afghanistan - The US Military along with Bush the Lesser screwed this up beyond belief - Under the Taliban most corruption was dealt with harshly - the country was still in a civil war with the Northern Alliance - After the US backed Northern Alliance swept the Taliban from power a perfect opportunity to co-opt the Taliban by bringing the moderates into the Govt was lost - The US puppet Karzai and the US made deals with Warlords that were drug runners and leaders of mass murders before and during the invasion .
Now the question arises will Obama make a deal with the Taliban - those that he can deal with - I certainly hope so - but wonder if he will screw it up for the sake of political expediency. Mullah Omar in 2001 made overtures to the US Govt that if he was left in peace he would cause no trouble - The US turned this down - Again the US screwed up - Omar had little respect as he was not literate in the Koran and could easily be co-opted by the Govt-
The Taliban are not one single group but many with various grievance with the Govt - Many of these could have easily been provided opportunities to work and provide for the families and clan members - Would corruption still exist - yes - But installing technocrats at the Ministry level that would have the support of NATO would be crucial to success - Also not having the US taking the lead role - other countries are better trained to do this - Canada for one -
The key to peace in Afghanistan has always been Pakistan - Yet the majority of Pakistanis agree that they do not want extremist in power - Pew Institute did a poll and the numbers back that up - Problem with Pakistan has been the same since partition - same as many Muslim 3rd world countries - Tribalism - feudalism - corruption - politics split along ethnic lines as they know where and who butters the bread - Poor education - lack of infrastructure - and the constant use of India as the Bogeyman -
Yes Kashmir has to be settled - India has to get its nose out of Afghanistan - That creates fear for Pakistani Govt's - NATO and European countries have to agree to a military plan - without caveats - Provide and oversee aid to Pakistan - And settle the Kashmir situation -
8 years and still no progress in Afghanistan - The US Military along with Bush the Lesser screwed this up beyond belief - Under the Taliban most corruption was dealt with harshly - the country was still in a civil war with the Northern Alliance - After the US backed Northern Alliance swept the Taliban from power a perfect opportunity to co-opt the Taliban by bringing the moderates into the Govt was lost - The US puppet Karzai and the US made deals with Warlords that were drug runners and leaders of mass murders before and during the invasion .
Now the question arises will Obama make a deal with the Taliban - those that he can deal with - I certainly hope so - but wonder if he will screw it up for the sake of political expediency. Mullah Omar in 2001 made overtures to the US Govt that if he was left in peace he would cause no trouble - The US turned this down - Again the US screwed up - Omar had little respect as he was not literate in the Koran and could easily be co-opted by the Govt-
The Taliban are not one single group but many with various grievance with the Govt - Many of these could have easily been provided opportunities to work and provide for the families and clan members - Would corruption still exist - yes - But installing technocrats at the Ministry level that would have the support of NATO would be crucial to success - Also not having the US taking the lead role - other countries are better trained to do this - Canada for one -
The key to peace in Afghanistan has always been Pakistan - Yet the majority of Pakistanis agree that they do not want extremist in power - Pew Institute did a poll and the numbers back that up - Problem with Pakistan has been the same since partition - same as many Muslim 3rd world countries - Tribalism - feudalism - corruption - politics split along ethnic lines as they know where and who butters the bread - Poor education - lack of infrastructure - and the constant use of India as the Bogeyman -
Yes Kashmir has to be settled - India has to get its nose out of Afghanistan - That creates fear for Pakistani Govt's - NATO and European countries have to agree to a military plan - without caveats - Provide and oversee aid to Pakistan - And settle the Kashmir situation -
