Tuesday, December 11, 2007

UK's Brown to Negotiate with Taliban in Afghanistan   [Steve Schippert]

The news is stunning. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will announce that, "in a bid to end the war in Afghanistan," he will begin negotiations with the Taliban. The quote from the "senior source" merely adds an exclamation point to it all.

The change of tack will be seen as the latest attempt by the prime minister to distance himself from the foreign policy of Tony Blair and his ally George Bush.

In a landmark statement in the Commons he will say that the Cabinet has agreed a three pronged strategy for Afghanistan which will [include] security guaranteed by NATO and the Afghan national army followed by economic and political development in the country.

The third prong of the plan is likely to be most controversial — to engage Taliban leaders in constructive dialogue.

A senior source said last night: "We need to ask who are we fighting? Do we need to fight them — can we be talking to them?"

Do we need to fight them? Do we need to fight them??? I am at a loss for words. Stunned.

How has the new British government managed to failed to discern whom they are fighting? There is the issue of granularity in "knowing the enemy," a lesson learned the hard way in Iraq. We do need to apply this in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well. But it should be noted with clarity that negotiating with an enemy you don't know is completely foolish.

Conservative defence spokesman Gerald Howarth said: "Sometimes you do have to talk to the enemy but Gordon Brown has got to be careful he is not placing too much emphasis on doing a deal will people who are unwilling or unable to deliver."

If the British government is questioning who the enemy is, how can it possibly - in principle and in logic - know enough to "be careful he is not placing too much emphasis on doing a deal will people who are unwilling or unable to deliver"?

Does the White House support this? This is an incredibly important question.

The move in Afghanistan is likely to cause concern in Washington, but a Whitehall source said that the policy had been taken in full consultation with the White House.

The announcement is bound to come as a shock to relatives of British soldiers who have died in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban.

The question is whether "full consultation" equates accompanying approval and/or buy in. If so, this would mark a stunning turn. Regardless, Brown's move alone is troubling news.

Expect al-Qaeda's propaganda machine, relentless in engaging the Information War, to bat this out of the park in short order. Recall that bin Laden's latest message to Europe was a reminder of Russia's futile struggle in Afghanistan. This, for him and for furthering his message in the region, serves to help bin Laden bolster the parallel.

One prays that Mark Steyn was not more right — and sooner — than we care to admit.

Yet, on the other hand, I prefer to be alone than anywhere near the new British policy.

Is it so inconceivable to end a war by winning it?

General Petraeus, if you have some free time in the relative near future, sir . . .

12/11 09:42 PMShare