Can Afghanistan's Taliban Become Our Allies?

Taliban fighters are now thought to have a permanent presence in 17 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces Photo: (EPA Photo from the Telegraph)

Can The US Be Pals With The Terrorist Taliban?
-- Christian Science Monitor

McCain and Obama need to say if they back Karzai's talks with the Afghan Taliban.

The McCain campaign may want to be careful with its charge that Barack Obama was once "pals" with a 1960s American terrorist. Whoever is the next president faces a difficult choice in the Afghanistan war: Should the US support possible talks with the Taliban, pals of Al Qaeda?

General David Petraeus does. And as President Bush often says, he takes the advice of top generals.

As architect of the troop surge that helped turn the Iraq war into an exitable and low-level conflict, Gen. Petraeus will soon become head of the US Central Command and thus responsible for American military operations in Afghanistan.

Several NATO commanders there say this seven-year old war, launched after 9/11 to oust both the Taliban regime and Al Qaeda, has become unwinnable and that only political reconciliation with Taliban insurgents can bring it to a close. A report by US intelligence agencies finds the recent escalation of the war has put Afghanistan in a "downward spiral."

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My Comment: I doubt that the U.S. can be pals with the Taliban. What will probably happen will be a shift in U.S. and Nato policy in aligning with elements of the Taliban that are not too close to the hard-core extremist elements of the Taliban.

The same tactics that were used in Iraq will probably be done in Afghanistan. Establish local militias under tight American supervision and support, eliminate the extremists, move to the next town.

The problem with Afghanistan is its terrain, size, and lack of an Afghan Army. But with time .... probably longer than what had to happen in Iraq .... Nato and our Afghan allies should succeed.

2009 will be the crucial year.

In addition, I need not be reminded that a new U.S. President will have an influence on Afghan policy. A separate post on this topic will be done after the U.S. Presidential election.