Saturday, March 29, 2008

Beer And Sandwiches With The Taliban at Number 10 Anyone?

As Centre Right asks: what does Des Browne really mean by saying we should negotiate with the Taliban? He told the Daily Telegraph that we need to bring them "into a frame of mind that they accept that their political ambitions will be delivered by politics."

Surely, in a country like Afghanistan, we are dealing with old tribal emnities overlaid with strong cultural traditions of family, honour and the relative place of men and women in society together with various shades of Muslim interpretations of that religion (and little or no toleration of other religions) as well as by the infestation of extreme Islamists intent on spreading their beliefs by any means available.
Who are we going to talk to? More importantly, what are we going to talk to them about?

At least Adams and McGuiness, as members of the IRA, had reasonably well-defined, if bigotted, aims.

I can't believe Des Browne is totally naive - incompetent perhaps - so I wonder what he really means?

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