Buckdog

Great move by Karzai. That being said, I don't know how eager the Taliban are to sit in his government if Sharia Law isn't going to be implemented and other hard-line Islamic policies.

I have been in conversation with an Afghan student who is studying International Development with me. He's a great guy and he has a fresh perspective that many Westerners do not hear. The Pashtun people make up 60% of Afghanistan and yet they do not get nearly that kind of representation in the Afghan government. Historically, this doesn't fly for the average Afghani and it still doesn't for many Pastun people. Karzai is Pashtun himself but the reason why there is so much soft-support for the Taliban in Afghanistan is because they are a Pashtun sympathetic entity made up of many Pashtun leaders. These people vote for and support politicians along sectarian and tribal lines - this is not the way things are in Canada.

Soft-support for the Taliban isn't going to die unless they are included in the government and are given a chance to speak on behalf of the people they claim to represent. If the Taliban are willing to stop car and suicide bombings if they are included in government circles than I think every Western nation should jump to support that move by Karzai. The "we cannot negotiate with terrorists" line is not applicable in an urban guerrilla war.

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so much for the "liberating the Afghanis" argument

There are already some "reformed" Taliban within the Karzai government. The real aim of peace talks with the Taliban is to split them in order to be able to handle the holdouts easier. The group as a whole demand foreign troop withdrawal (not aid by the way) as a precondition for negotiation. There is no way this demand will be met.
Karzai is dependent upon foreigners even for his bodyguards.
Note that the present government has not liberated Afghans from Sharia law. Just remember the recent case of a Muslim convert to Christianity who had to flee to Italy to avoid the death penalty.
A female member of parliament who had the temerity to note that some former warlords and human rights violtators were members of the parliament was tossed out on her ear.
Of course the war on drugs in Afghanistan is so successful that Afghanistan produces most of the world's heroin.
http://kenthink7.blogspot.com

I am one of the regular readers.
But this is just my first comment to your blog, and
sorry for distrubing by posting this comment
which subject is not direcly concerned to your post.
Just asking Help. HELP!!
"OUR CUNNING MILITARY Government is killing his people and
showing fake evidence by using armed force and saying skyful of lies to UN and World.
Pls help in revealing the truth as you can.
PLEASE KINDLY HELP BURMA, MYANMAR!
http://agamsgecko.blogspot.com/
(and pls kindly check Myanmar websites)
http://www.dvb.no
http://soneseayar.blogspot.com/
http://niknayman.blogspot.com (pls check CBox Eng Version)
http://burmanews.cbox.ws/"
Regards,

"OUR CUNNING MILITARY Government is killing his people and
showing fake evidence by using armed force and saying skyful of lies to UN and World."

Don't quit your day job.

This all entirely dependent on the Taliban halting attacks..which I'm willing to bet my left nut that they won't.

Of course Taliban Jack won't give a shit what happens to Afghanistan as long as he can use our dead VOLUNTEERS as a political weapon.

Har har I said it! TALIBAN JACK!