Posted on 10/14/2010 9:19:34 PM PDT by Eyes Unclouded
NATO’s confirmation that its forces are facilitating talks between Taliban leaders and the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai is a sign that the Afghanistan balance could be shifting from warfare to settlement – and the eventual withdrawal of Western combat forces. With President Obama’s surge of US forces in Afghanistan complete, this was supposed to be the time for breaking the insurgency’s momentum to create more favorable conditions for peace negotiations. Though those conditions have clearly not yet arrived, NATO decided to guarantee safe passage to senior Taliban leaders taking part in the talks – though NATO is not taking part in the talks itself. It is an indication that the surge has not progressed as planned, forcing the US and its allies to open the door wider to other options, says Lawrence Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington and a former Pentagon official. “What happened is that, even though we may have wanted things to move in a different manner, this is what Karzai wants and what he was determined to do,” says Mr. Korb. The Western facilitation of the talks joins other recent pointers suggesting the war may be more “wind down” than “ratchet up” – with Western nations focusing on a military-to-civilian shift. Among the signs: * New National Security Adviser Tom Donilon is known to be an Afghan war skeptic who opposed Mr. Obama’s “surge” in Afghanistan. His predecessor, Gen. James Jones, also opposed adding troops to Afghanistan, but supporters of US military engagement in Afghanistan fear that Mr. Donilon’s appointment is writing on the wall that Obama intends his withdrawal of US forces
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
It does matter who the President is when he wants to tear our country down.
Absolutely! And of course that means both parties are at fault! We have long been too partisan when it comes to voting...it’s time to hold all parties to task!
Yes, maybe that means a third party should arise...A party that is for the people again instead of themselves...
Yes, maybe that means a third party should arise...A party that is for the people again instead of themselves...
Resurect the Union Party of Andew Johnson?
It’s coming... Tea Party (sounds like a great name for a third party doesn’t it?)... If things continue for the next few year with no accounting to the public - it WILL happen!
we should have left in 2002
Islam and Freedom are not compatible. It will never work in Islamic countries. They will have to be crushed or isolated. We should profile Muslims and keep them out.
Sounds like a trip down memory lane to me. U.S. backing a corrupt, inept government against a motivated, well-funded, well-equipped enemy that says it wants to "negotiate"..
I hope the helicopter landing pad at the AmEmb in Kabul is in working order.
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