Allahu akbar! Would you like fries with that, Infidel?
This is the kind of wrongheaded and myopic effort that comes from ignoring the jihad doctrine and ideology of Islamic supremacism, and assuming that Taliban members are waging jihad only because they are poor and have no other options.
“EXCLUSIVE: U.S. tries to thin Taliban with jobs, cash offers,” by Sara A. Carter and Nasir Khan for the Washington Times, December 17 (thanks to Undaunted):
The United States and its allies are stepping up efforts to persuade Afghan insurgents to put down their arms by negotiating with representatives of Mullah Mohammed Omar and other Taliban commanders and offering cash and jobs to low-level fighters, according to Pakistani, Middle Eastern and U.S. officials and analysts.
The efforts, coupled with an increased U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, are meant to weaken the insurgency and promote a negotiated end to the region’s violence.
“The strategy is to peel away so many fighters” from the insurgent chiefs that they will be left like “floating icebergs and have no one left to command,” said Kenneth Katzman, an Afghanistan specialist at the Congressional Research Service.
Several Pakistani, Middle Eastern and U.S. officials said in interviews that Saudi and Pakistani officials, acting with tacit American encouragement, are talking with “second tier” Taliban leaders connected with Mullah Omar. The Washington Times reported recently that Mullah Omar has been hiding in the Pakistani metropolis of Karachi and was brought there with the knowledge of Pakistani intelligence.
“You’ve got a lot of players involved in the effort,” said a U.S. official with knowledge of the talks, “not just within the U.S. government, but foreign partners, too.”
The official, who spoke on the condition that he not be named because of the sensitivity of the topic, added: “U.S. intelligence isn’t the lead on talking to members of the Afghan Taliban who may be interested in discussing reconciliation. But when it makes sense, the [U.S.] intelligence community is brought in for its expertise, relationships and judgment.”
Such meetings were reported to have taken place in the Saudi holy city of Mecca in September 2008, but they continue elsewhere today.
Mr. Katzman said Qayyum Karzai, a brother of the Afghan president, participated in the 2008 talks. He also said there were meetings in January in Saudi Arabia and contacts in the United Arab Emirates….