[Peace-discuss] We've Caught the Taliban Chief! Can We Go Home Now?

[Robert Naiman]

How the U.S. handles the Pakistani arrest of the top Afghan Taliban
military commander, and the aftermath of the U.S. military assault in
Marja, may have a decisive impact on whether we get to withdraw our
troops from Afghanistan soon, or in the far-off future. Some analysts
- like Gareth Porter - think the key motivation of the present U.S.
military escalation is political in the bad sense: in order to
negotiate with the Afghan Taliban, first the U.S. has to "show that
nobody pushes us around," just as President Bush had to escalate
militarily in Iraq before he could cut deals with the Sunni Awakening
and the Mahdi Army militia. It's a grim world in which the most
powerful country kills people to look tough; but right now, the way to
minimize human suffering is for the U.S. to take advantage of recent
"successes" to take a high road towards going home.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/weve-caught-the-taliban-c_b_465959.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/2/17/1481/12902

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/485

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Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org

Change.org: End the war in Afghanistan
Timeline for Withdrawal and Political Negotiations
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/end_the_war_in_afghanistan_establish_a_timeline_for_withdrawal_and_begin_political_negotiations

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