When US forces invaded Afghanistanin 2001, they were in no mood to compromise. Back then, they said that they would wipe out the Taliban. A zero-tolerance policy unleashed a decade of bloody conflict in one of the most impoverished countries in the world. It was a country that had already been battered by the Russian invasion of 1979 and the long ensuing war, which left entire cities and much of the countryside in ruins. Years later, the US made the same mistake in Iraq, when it labelled all Baathists enemies. In the end, the USasked the very same Baathists to help consolidate their tenuous hold on that country. The realisation that the Afghan War was unwinnable and that more resources were required to tackle a resurgent Taliban who still enjoy support in key Pashtun provinces, coupled with the need to find a political solution, has prompted the need for flexibility. Although the idea came late, it did make sense to look for a more long-lasting political settlement to the conflict by opening official-level talks, even as the war rages on. The other option, in this case, is no talks and just war. Aljazeera
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 07:32:21 +0000
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