ACROSS THE AISLE: SOMETIMES IT IS BETTER TO TALK THAN TO FIGHT

On the blog Across the Aisle, Brian Vogt analyzes the outrage surrounding Obama’s new approach to reaching out to moderate elements of the Taliban.  For example, David Rothkopf is against this behavior.   Vogt argues that it would be a mistake if, today, we also viewed all the Taliban the same way. 

My conclusion is that in some situations, perhaps discussion with reconcilable Taliban elements make sense.  Mullah Omar – no.  But, perhaps the low level foot soldiers that are the face of the Taliban for so many people, or perhaps those that are commanding them one level up.  However, it is equally important that such discussions are followed up with true governance reform.  In addition, talking from a position of strength (ie troop increase) is critical.  Right now, the smart Taliban negotiator sees little reason to throw his lot in with NATO or with the Afghan government.  From his point of view, at some point, NATO will be gone and unless stable government institutions are created, a betting man would probably wager on the Taliban to be the only authority left in the long run.  We need to have the muscle today and the long term commitment to the region and to building its governance institutions that alters this calculation.  Unfortunately, the track record of the United States in the region does not position us well to make this argument convincingly.

It’s important that we don’t see this as the cure-all long-term solution for the challenge we face.  However, if conducted in the right way, it might contribute to divisions within the Taliban and allow the breathing room for effective government institutions to take hold.

Question to the Blogosphere:  Last week, our blog post on this topic struck a nerve with visiters.  Should this article change some people’s minds about whether they think we should talk to moderate elements of the Taliban?