The Times Online reports that a draft “reintegration” agreement contains a vision of a “grand peace council” that would include representatives from every facet of Afghan society, including religious leaders. This draft version says:
The government will provide the Taliban and other insurgent groups who wish to respect the constitution a dignified way to renounce violence and peacefully reintegrate into their communities.
The strategy is primarily based on cajoling lower level Taliban commanders and soldiers, which is likely a wise approach in light of the fact previous efforts to tempt higher ranking Taliban have failed miserably. Although it makes sense on paper, the level of ferocity of recent attacks might signify the Taliban warriors aren’t quite ready to trade-in loyalties for cash.
Taliban fighters not ready to fold
This morning it certainly did not appear as if any of the insurgents were ready to lie down: 17 people died in four distinct episodes, a police chief was kidnapped, and a provincial governor narrowly escaped assassination. Either that or they are impressively enhancing their leverage to negotiate. And, just last week Taliban leaders were quick to announce their fighters weren’t going to sell-out anytime soon, after militants killed 5 and wounded 38 others in an attack on the Central Bank in downtown Kabul.
Nobody from the Taliban side is ready to make any kind of deal,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said in an interview. “The world community and the international forces are trying to buy the Taliban, and that is why we are showing that we are not for sale.”
Mujahid makes a strong point. Contrary to rumors that some might be ready and willing to desert their cause and join the side of the Afghan government, the reality is the Taliban have been fighting more vigorously than at anytime since 2001. As a matter of fact, American soldiers are dying at a much faster rate at the hands of insurgents, considering two times as many were killed last year compared to 2008.
The makings of a deal
The supposed plan does align with recent assessments by U.S. officials that America will not win militarily in Afghanistan, but only via political reconciliation. Defense Secretary Robert Gates alluded to this during his weekend trip to Pakistan, when he mentioned that the Taliban were part of the “political fabric” of Afghanistan.
Plus, both sides know that Western and other foreign governments do not want to be mired in Afghanistan. The United States itself has clearly exhibited its aversion to being bogged down in a long-term conflict in the region, with President Obama going so far as to set a timetable for withdrawal in mid-2011.
Word also has it that despite historical precedence, senior figures in the Taliban might actually be willing to play ball. Whispers have swirled over the past few weeks around Kabul about back-channel discussions between Karzai and the Quetta Shura - the Taliban’s leadership council which has now found sanctuary in Quetta, Pakistan. A potential power-sharing arrangement between the Karzai government and elements of the Taliban might be on the table, should the Taliban agree to end the war.
According to the New York Times, President Karzai might ask the UN to remove the name of Mullah Omar, the infamous Afghan Taliban leader, from a “black list” of dubious figures who have had financial accounts frozen worldwide and are prohibited from traveling. Removing his name from this list is allegedly one of the principal preconditions that must be met prior to Mr. Omar entering into negotiations.
Major sticking points for the Taliban have been ardent demands to accept the Afghan constitution and the insistence that they break all ties with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. From their end, the Taliban have demanded that the Americans withdraw, or at least set a timetable for withdrawal, before talks can begin.
Even if these rumors are true, one wonders how much control the Mullah has over his entire organization and its spin-offs. Will the Haqqani Network and the new generation of jihadists lay down arms to join forces with infidels in the U.S.-backed Afghan government? The emerging Taliban leaders are less politically adept than their predecessors, purer in their Islamic faith and their motivation to rule Afghanistan and impose sharia law exceeds earthly desires.
Are Taliban ready to join 21st century?
But before any political accommodation with the Taliban can occur, the million dollar question that Gates needs answered is whether or not the Taliban are ready to build a 21st century Afghanistan or whether they just want to kill people:
The question is, what do the Taliban want to make out of Afghanistan?” Mr. Gates told journalists. “When they tried before, we saw what they wanted to make, and it was a desert, culturally and in every other way.”
Source:examiner.com/
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