Anyone who didn’t see this coming must be a highly paid foreign policy “expert” in Washington. And because of it, there will be new calls for U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan indefinitely, which is the last thing they should do. It is long past time for a new strategy of containment of jihad activity that does not rely on having American troops in the ground there forever.
“Taliban attacks kill 20 army, police, hours after Trump call: Officials,” AFP, March 4, 2020:
The Taliban killed at least 20 Afghan soldiers and policemen in a string of overnight attacks, government officials told AFP Wednesday, hours after US President Donald Trump said he had had a “very good” chat with the insurgents’ political chief.
“Taliban fighters attacked at least three army outposts in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz last night, killing at least 10 soldiers and four police,” said Safiullah Amiri, a member of the provincial council….with the governor’s spokesman Zergai Ebadi telling AFP: “Unfortunately, six police were killed…”
mortimer says
Since the Taliban cannot be trusted to lay down its weapons, they should be given one more chance. If there is no compliance within the space of a few months, then an all-out extermination of Taliban should ensue with no quarter given. The Taliban is a terrorist organization, period. It has not other role than that. They were particularly inept a running a country. The Taliban must be banned and anyone joining it should expect a life sentence or hanging. Afghanistan will never enter the modern world if the Taliban continues to exist.
Bob Valiquette says
Until they take away their sanctuary in Pakistan, nothing will change! Pakistan is part n parcel of the Taliban strategy, where the leaders live with hardly a worry! The us needs to pound them mercilessly from above and artillery. Attack drones that fly race track patterns until fighters cross into Afghanistan, then destroy them. That’s the only way, or station many troops with Specter covering their butts. All the things they don’t do
gravenimage says
Also true–the Taliban have been waltzing back and forth across the border. Pakistan has no interest in stopping the Taliban, either.
JamesC says
They have proved their true character many times. To give them more chances would play into their hands. Total extermination, without pity or quarter, is all that they seem to understand: so let that be what they get. They need to be wiped out, obliterated, vaporised, every last one of them, with no exceptions whatsoever, as though they had never been. Their very name needs to perish.
gravenimage says
Why should we give the Taliban another chance? They are never going to stop murdering us, and pretending that they will do so is just fantasy-based policy.
And I don’t think, sadly, that they were any more inept than was the Islamic State at running a country. Their only real concern was imposing brutal Shari’ah law.
And Afghanistan is almost 100% Muslim. Why would they want to enter the modern world? Even the “moderate” Afghan government now has stoning back on the books.
Ken Baskin says
Another chance? No, send them on a 2-week anger -management course. That should bring them to their senses.
b.a. freeman says
golly, what a surpise.
there are only 3 ways to handle the ummah. one way is to isolate all muslims who refuse to assimilate into their own s**thole nations, letting them stew in uncivilized violence for the rest of time; another is to occupy all their s**thole nations, outlaw islam, and stay there for 500 years; the other is to do like the PRC is doing with the uighurs, which is to take away the youngest children of the muslims and give them to other citizens far away from the original homes of the children, then put the parents into “re-education” labor camps, and after 50 or 60 years, the problem will be solved.
personally, i *M*U*C*H* prefer the first method, because it is the least painful to all involved, particularly the major victims, the muslims themselves. unfortunately, because most political leaders don’t understand how to think critically, they have never learned about islam, and furthermore, NEVER WILL – except for the hard-core leftist traitors, who are using the importation of the ummah to destroy civilization so that they can seize power and build a socialist paradise on the its ashes. well, this is one unrepentant born-again christian who believes in defending his neighbors, his friends, his family, and his nation in spite of the poisonous hatred of the modern-day nazis (who were, after all, socialists above all), and who has no intention of going down without a fight. there will be a civil war in virtually every free nation in the world, the citizens of all of which have been betrayed by socialist liars, so i urge every free person to set aside shelf-stable food and water (and *live* off the oldest stores, replenishing them as used), along with *LEGAL* materials which can be used as weapons. keep in mind that it is commies and nazis who think laws are for the stupid stinking masses, not for them, and who daily make a mockery of them; let we the free people of the world obey the law until the end. and when that end comes, let us defend ourselves and hold the traitors accountable.
dhans says
Interesting comment. Yes, ideologies can be destroyed, i.e,, the exact same way we destroyed the ideologies of Japan and Germany in the 1940’s. This comes at a huge cost to all societies engaged in such actions, even for the winners. I agree with your analysis, as the fatal flaw of Islam is that of the “No True Scotsman” logical fallacy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman). Who indeed is a “true” Muslim? It seems we have done a pretty good job of getting them fighting among themselves. Societies such as ours will not survive however, without a cohesive underlying ideology, so I too am a Christian. I am, however too old to survive any such upheaval to even want to prepare for it, and I don’t see enough young people in church to expect Christianity to come out the initial winner in the event of such a conflict. Ultimately, I don’t see the competing ideologies winning either, as what is successful ultimately depends on a foundation of moral truth that is found in Christianity. The subjective moral truth of atheism, Communists, and Progressives will ultimately fail because ultimately it is unjust. You present an interesting comment, and these are interesting times.
PRCS says
“The subjective moral truth of atheism, Communists, and Progressives will ultimately fail because ultimately it is unjust:.
Having spent 21 years active duty in the U.S. military–as an atheist–I can assure you that I do not ascribe to a ‘progressive’ ideology, have never had a good word for Communism, believe our man-made laws are (essentially) just, and that I am objectively moral.
TheBuffster says
PRCS – Agreed. What some people don’t seem to understand is that atheism is no more a philosophy than is theism. Both are broad terms that do not hold to any specific philosophy or religious belief. A person who believes in multiple gods, or the monotheists such as Jews, Christians, and Muslims, are all theists. They all believe in a god or gods.
Atheists are people who do not believe in a god or gods. That’s all it means.
There are as many ways of coming at secular philosophy as there are ways of coming at theism. Some religions are objectively better than others; some secular philosophies are obectively better than others.
The belief that a god or gods exist and that the dogma set down through the alleged prophets of those gods is somehow more *objective* than principles discovered and tested though time by trial and error and common sense makes no sense to me. The best religious codes are ones that were built on principles discovered through time by humans living together and working out how to manage that in the best way they knew how. And to give the moral laws greater influence among the most weak-willed among them these laws were proclaimed to be revealed from a god or gods. That gave them extra magic and influence – to put the fear of God into those whose self-motivation towards virtue wasn’t strong enough.
Many of the principles in Christianity and Judaism are simply common sense, tried-and-true, non-revealed truths about how people should treat each other if they want to live together in peace and prosperity: don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t cheat on your spouse, don’t lie about people, try to maintain a benevolent and generous spirit.
But those principles aren’t objective truths because a god revealed them; they are objective truths because human nature and the nature of reality in general requires certain methods and principles to be followed if people are to live together well. Those principles can be discovered just as we can discover that it’s not a good idea to jump off a cliff or set our clothing on fire.
Any honest, rational person whose aim is a constructive life and good relations with others can work out or recognize objective moral principles. That’s what makes them objective: they actually work to bring about a decent, productive and prosperous, peaceful society if everyone lives by them. The proof is in the results. The reason we can judge a religion like Christianity as having good rules to live by is because the reasoning mind can see what disaster happens when people do the opposite.
The problems we’re facing today aren’t because religion has diminished in peoples’ lives, but because respect for honesty, reason – objective thinking methods – and thoughtful examination of life and consequences has been diminished by those who have been seduced by such irrational philosophies as Postmodernism. It’s the nature of certain irrational secular *and* religious philosophies (Islam) that create the mess we’re seeing today. But not all secular philosophies reject objectivity and the absolute nature of reality, nor do they all reject the individual’s rights to his/her life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness (in the Aristotelian, not the hedonistic sense).
PRCS says
Buffster,
Thanks for your nicely articulated and focused post.
Sorry to have not responded in a more timely manner.
I’ve copied the post for future plagiarism use!
gravenimage says
Agreed, Buffster. Good post.
gravenimage says
Yes–Islam should be isolated. We were pretty much completely safe fro Islam for hundreds of years when Islam was largely isolated from us.
Chistopher Watson says
Every Taliban prisoner should be executed; every village which contains any Taliban should be torched and all certain Taliban members should be executed and their eldest sons should be killed as well. That’s how you win a war.
OTTER says
Sad but true: Game, set and match to Islam in Afghanistan.
Walter Sieruk says
For President Trump to have a a ” ‘very good’ chat with the insurgents’ political chief” .actually translated in the real world of Taqyyia really means the President had a very deceitfully lied to had been given bogus promises in a so called ‘chat” with the insurgents’ political chief of the Taliban.
An example of the lying words and half truths and double speak of the Taliban was seen on the morning of April 17, 2019 on FOX NEWS television the subject was covered about the idea of having “peace talks “with the Taliban. Viewing the history of the Taliban when they were in power in Afghanistan and the brutal ruthless misogyny they had engaged in was both vicious and malicious to the extreme.
Therefore the question, naturally, was brought up, now that peace talks” might soon begin, the Taliban was asked if they return to power in Afghanistan “ would they respect female rights ?”
To that question the Taliban replied “that when back in power they would respect.
Women‘s rights but only to the limits of the cultural of will they permit those rights of women.”
The point is that the “cultural of Afghanistan” is really the religion of Afghanistan, which is Islam.
Therefore the reality is that female rights, for both girls and woman, will not exist in a future Taliban controlled Islamic state of Afghanistan . For Islam is a religion of harsh and malice- filled misogyny.
As explained in the book, by Brigitte Gabriel, of the title THEY MUST BE STOPPED. Her book informs the readers on page 172. “Woman in Islam are considered unclean, deemed inferior even to dirt.”
Walter Sieruk says
Be it ,in part, for a “good chat” with the Taliban chiefs or not any type “peace agreement”with Taliban is a “Deal with devil “ in other words a “fools deal.” The very idea of having actual, real, genuine productive “peace talks” with those brutal ,cruel misogynistic Taliban characters is an absurd and fool idea of folly.
One thing is for sure, even if even attempting to engage on “peace talks” with Taliban it would be best not to be naive about them and take at face value anything that they might say or promise. To just “give trust away” to those Islamic characters who compose the Taliban would be foolishness and folly. For when trying to have genuine negotiations with the them ,it need to be kept in mind that there is an Islamic doctrine called TAQIYYA This is the Muslim dogma the lying and deception are good things to do, if and as long as the lies and deceit are done for the advancement of Islam.
For the deceptive and disingenuous Taliban have proven many times over, by their own actions, that they are a ruthless, brutal vicious gang of thugs with no honor. So in any kind of “dialogue” the Taliban will most likely speak the truth only when it happened to suite them. The rest of the time they will be speaking half-truths and also be outright lying.
Likewise, the Taliban will keep their word in anything that they may happen to promise only and long as in fits into their agenda and no longer. So before engaging of the foolishness of attempting to have genuine “talks for a peace alliance” with Taliban, the officials of the current government would do well to heed the wisdom of Sun Tzu found in THE ART OF WAR. For it instructs “We cannot enter into an alliance neighboring’s princes, until we are acquainted with their designs.” To put this in a more updated and current way, it may be said that “We cannot enter into a peace alliance with the Taliban until we know the actual intentions and real schemes.”
Furthermore, if attempting to engage in “peace talks” with Taliban it would be very naïve to take at face value anything that the Taliban might promise. For example, the Taliban might say that they will respect the rights of women and girls, for they ,many times, employ the Islamic doctrine of Taqiyya In those so called “negotiations” with officials of the West .Taaqyia ids the Islamic teaching that lying and deceit
So it may be nothing but foolishness and folly to even try to have worthwhile constructive peace discussions with lying brutal cruel men who make up the Taliban . For having a genuine practical peace compromise with Taliban might be impossible
As the former US President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had well-spoken when he said “There has never been – there never can be – successful compromise between good and evil.”
James Lincoln says
The same type of thing WILL happen with any “peace deal” between the Israelis and the palestinians…
Adam says
To early to judge, might be a lone wolf suffering from some mental illness. Oh I know, a right-wing extremist after reading the latest book from Mr. Robert Spencer, the “anti-Muslim” guy. Maybe Trump’s travel ban.
If only Israel would just stop being. If only the Jews weren’t so Jewish or the Christians so Christian.
For a second I thought I was a CNN reporter.
gravenimage says
Fresh from signing peace deal, Taliban murder 20 soldiers and cops in jihad massacres
………………………
No one who knows the least thing about the Taliban should be surprised by this dishonest savagery.
Lorensacho says
It should be noted that negotiations for the peace deal between the U.S. and the Taliban did not include the government of Afghanistan who refused to honor the release of Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government negotiated by the Taliban and the U.S. Aside from the insanity of negotiating a peace agreement without the presence of the government on whose land the deal relates to, the refusal to release prisoners invalidated the deal opening up the door for the Taliban to resume its activities. never have we seen such an inept American government. It appears that the U.S. government was so desperate to achieve a foreign policy success that it sold out the Afghan government.
gravenimage says
Yes–that this didn’t even include the Afghan government (such as it is) showed that this “peace deal” was a joke from the beginning.
OLD GUY says
No matter what you can not trust the muslim/islamic leadership or followers. Power and death is the only thing these people understand, you either kill them or they are going to kill you.
Maximus says
There is only one true winning strategy against Taliban: massive carpet bombing – if that does not bring them to their knees – then more massive carpet bombing with 5,000-pounders. Let them pay 10,000 of them for every US solder they harm.
OLD GUY says
Their desire is to be a martyr to Allah so let’s help them out, we can make their No. 1 dream come true.