And gets shut down.http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/10/06/afghanistan-canada.html
Canada maintains its position that the Taliban must renounce violence before any deal with the Afghan government can be reached.
Karzai announced last week that he would meet for peace talks with two insurgent leaders, including Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and offered to give the militants a position in government if they renounced violence.
A spokesman for the Taliban soon rejected the offer, saying talks would only go ahead if foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
My two cents: negotiating with Mullah Omar is a terrible idea. This really would be like al-Maliki putting Saddam back into the government (if he were still alive). I mean, for fuck's sake - Omar was one of the most wanted men in the world when he was deposed six years ago - now he'd be back into the government? Wow. And people thought Nixon made a comeback ...
But of course, he could never ever be trusted. And it goes without saying, I think, that he's a total piece of shit. I understand that sometimes you have compromise with your enemies to have peace, but some people just have too much blood on their hands. Mullah Omar is a bridge too far, I think. Plus, having Omar back in the leadership of the country is regression and anti-westernization if anything is.
But look at the answer he gave in his rejection - not until all foreign troops leave. Yes, sure. And then what will happen? He'll go back on his word and attempt to bring down the government by force - same as before.
What an awful situation. Six years on, it looks like Afghanistan might just go right back to where they were before the Western invasion, just many lives and much money poorer.
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posted 08 October 2007 08:57 PM
