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The Sauds Bring The Taliban To The Peace Table, And The West Should Too

Two weeks ago in Mecca, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia hosted talks between the Afghani government and the Taliban to begin dialogue on reconciliation between the two parties and reintroducing a large segment of the population into national institutions. Against the grain of American/NATO policy, the Sauds have once again been forced to go behind Western backs to seek stability in the region.

The situation seems oddly familiar — one side heralded by the West as part of long-term Middle East democratization, the other derided as a destabilizing, rogue organization that must be excluded at all costs. In February of 2007, the Sauds brought together Fatah and Hamas in spite of fervent American activity to remove Hamas from power, including direct coup attacks in Gaza. Though the Palestinian Unity government would hastily collapse, it showed that ‘radicalized’ elements could be brought into governing coalitions in the Middle East.

Like Hamas, the Talibans support is broad-based and entrenched within the socio-political fabric. The forceful strategy of NATO has isolated the Taliban to some degree but has failed to remove supporters or impact its activities, specifically in the Southeast provinces of Afghanistan. With the increased militant activity of the Taliban against infrastructure, any economic development that could potentially decrease the patronage of militant organizations is stymied.

Indeed, top officials in NATO are admitting that the Afghani war is not winnable via military tactics. Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, Britain’s top military officer in Afghanistan, has said, “We’re not going to win this war.” At best, he says, international troops can hope to reduce it “to a manageable level of insurgency that’s not a strategic threat.”

For a viable Afghan state to emerge, elements of the Taliban must be engaged and some enveloped into a governing coalition. Lacking the will power and capability to destroy the Taliban by conventional military means, the West must seek out alternative methods of stabilizing Afghanistan. With direct diplomatic talks and promoting carrots over sticks, the West foster development within Afghanistan and allow for future political and social stability.

Sources

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23612315/how_we_lost_the_war_we_won/print

Saudi hosts Afghan peace talks with Taliban reps, CNN

Solving the Problems of Afghanisan, The Economist

Facing Reality in Afghanistan: Talking with the Taliban, Time

The Coming Change of Course in Afghanistan

See Also: The Woe In Afghanistan, A Grand Bargain In Afghanistan?, Talking To The Taliban, A New Strategy for Afghanistan, Germany Renews Afghanistan Mandate, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Agree To Talk To Taliban, Al-Qaeda’s Progression On Pakistan’s Demise, Two Daring Attacks on US Troops in Afghanistan, Afghanistan/Pakistan: Talks with Taliban, US Air Strikes, NATO Hits its Limit, Bringing Freedom to Afghanistan, and US Changing Course, now Willing to Talk With Taliban.

[tags]taliban, taleban, peace talks, afghanistan, saudi arabia, sustained peace, dialogue, us-led government, united states, diplomacy, southeast afghanistan, southwest afghanistan, pakistan, talibani forces, stability[/tags]

Sarah Palin Continues To Be The Most Disliked Candidate Of The 2008 Election

The maverick independent hockey pitbull lady seems to be good at one thing and one thing only — completely alienating independent voters from supporting the John McCain campaign:

A majority of likely voters in a new Washington Post-ABC News national poll now have unfavorable views of the Alaska governor, most still doubt her presidential qualifications and there is an even split on whether she “gets it,” a perception that had been a key component of her initial appeal.

In polling conducted Wednesday and Thursday evenings, after the disclosure that the Republican National Committee used political funds to help Palin assemble a wardrobe for the campaign, 51 percent said they have a negative impression of her. Fewer, 46 percent, said they have a favorable view. That marks a stark turnaround from early September, when 59 percent of likely voters held positive opinions.

The declines in Palin’s ratings have been even more substantial among the very voters Republicans aimed to woo. The percentage of white women viewing her favorably dropped 21 points since early September; among independent women, it fell 24 points.

More broadly, the intensity of negative feelings about Palin is also notable: Forty percent of voters have “strongly unfavorable” views, more than double the post-convention number. Nearly half of independent women now see her in a very negative light, a nearly threefold increase.

[Via Washington Post]

See Also: John McCain’s Mistake, sarah palin is a celebrity, I youda ast me, I could toldja, Spot The Difference, Riding the “Redistribution” Railroad into the Gutter, Pawlenty Would Have Been A Better Pick, The Palin-McCain Conflict, Palin talks clothes, Update from the swing voter, Sarah Palin: Give me the severed foreleg of the wolf, and “Even Female Conservative Pundits Embrace Palin Bashing”.

[tags]sarah palin, unfavorability ratings, disliked ratings, intense dislike, strongly unfavorable views of sarah palin, approval ratings, disapproval ratings, sarah palin vice presidential nominee, republican, nobody likes sarah palin, independent voters, unfavorable ratings, public polls[/tags]

My Hairiest Supporter Yet

Wookiee Support For Presidential Candidates:

99% For Ron Paul
1% Cynthia McKinney

See Also: Blue State Montana?, RNC Goes Up In Montana, Montana: Battleground State, If You’re Thinking of Voting for Third Party and Help Elect McCain and Palin, Here’s Who You Empower, Bob Barr Campaign A Failure, Votes for Sale, Get ‘em While They’re Hot!, Ron Paul – Spending the Economy into Oblivion, and Jump for Obama or McCain or Ron Paul or Rupaul.

[tags]wookie, chewbacca, chewie, chewbacka, star wars, ron paul, weird photo, weird pic, ron paul supporters, image[/tags]

From Williamsburg, With Love

Sarah Palin, Campaign Wrecker

Trouble’s a brewing! Sarah Palin has stolen John McCain’s thunder and Cindy McCain’s oxycontin prescription. And nobody is too happy about it, leading to delicious Republican cannibalism reported by Ben Smith:

Four Republicans close to Palin said she has decided increasingly to disregard the advice of the former Bush aides tasked to handle her, creating occasionally tense situations as she travels the country with them. Those Palin supporters, inside the campaign and out, said Palin blames her handlers for a botched rollout and a tarnished public image — even as others in McCain’s camp blame the pick of the relatively inexperienced Alaska governor, and her public performance, for McCain’s decline.

“She’s lost confidence in most of the people on the plane,” said a senior Republican who speaks to Palin, referring to her campaign jet. He said Palin had begun to “go rogue” in some of her public pronouncements and decisions.

“I think she’d like to go more rogue,” he said.

Combined with this from CNN:

Some of John McCain’s advisers are not happy that his running mate, Governor Sarah Palin, is making a habit of going off-script and off-message with some of her comments… Most recently this weekend when she discussed her wardrobe at a rally in Florida.

So let’s play “what if?”

What if John McCain had not picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate? For one thing, the Republicans probably wouldn’t have had to spend $150,000 buying clothes for the candidate.

Consider yourself zinged by Jack Cafferty. (How embarrassing).

See Also: Palin in 2012? Not So Fast, Sarah, Newsweek: 2012 Republican Front Runners Are…, Fashion Disaster, The house across the street from Gov Palin, Accepting Reality, I Would Tap That, My Friend, Can You Say Senator Sarah Palin?, Palin’s “Medical Information”, Sarah Palin is Rogue???, Sarah Palin bitchslaps Grampa McCain, goes Rogue, Another “WTF?” Moment from Sarah Palin: Redneck Woman, and McCain Staffers Argue Against Sarah Palin’s Fitness to be President.

[tags]sarah palin, sarah palin going rogue, ben smith, politico, jack cafferty, sarah palen, nobody likes sarah palin, republicans, going rogue, offscript, disliked, cannibalism, death of the john mccain campaign, mccain camp, palin camp, wardrobe, presidential campaign, republican campaign, breakdown, dislike, distrust[/tags]