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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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Obama May Reach Out to Elements of Taliban

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(Newser) – President Obama stated flatly today that the US is not winning the war in Afghanistan and said he is considering reaching out to less extreme elements of the Taliban, the New York Times reports. He likened the strategy to the successful American efforts in Iraq of convincing Sunni insurgents to cut ties with more radical groups.

“There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region,” said Obama, whose administration is in the midst of a strategy review. He acknowledged, however, that Afghanistan is its own special case. The situation there "is, if anything, more complex,” he said. “You have a less governed region, a history of fierce independence among tribes ... and so figuring all that out is going to be much more of a challenge.”

President Barack Obama makes remarks at the Columbus Police Graduation Exercises in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, March 6, 2009.
President Barack Obama makes remarks at the Columbus Police Graduation Exercises in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, March 6, 2009.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
President Obama listens to a question at the White House Forum on Health Reform in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2009.
President Obama listens to a question at the White House Forum on Health Reform in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2009.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Obama delivers remarks at the White House Forum on Health Reform, Thursday, March 5, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
President Obama delivers remarks at the White House Forum on Health Reform, Thursday, March 5, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
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If you talk to General Petraeus, I think he would argue that part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists.

- President Obama

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12 comments
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Forderon
Mar 7, 09 2:16 PM CST
Finally! This shows that Obama is listening to smart people who know the area. People like Fareed Zakaria have been saying that we need to isolate the Taliban from Al Qaeda because the Taliban isn't a terrorist group per se, they haven't attacked or are planning to attack the US. Sure, they are an oppressive regime, but we can use diplomacy to contain them and isolate them from the real enemy. A RAND corporation study says that only 8% of terrorists conflicts are solved by combat, the rest are solved by diplomacy and intelligence. We need to stop bombing them, which only turns them against us and makes them welcome the order that Taliban provides. Reply
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Rob
Mar 7, 09 2:51 PM CST
Not terrorists? Huh? Remember the terrorizing of girls simply wanting to go to school? Remember the destruction of the sandstone Buddha’s? Caning, acid throwing, beheadings? Are you crazy? Oh you mean they haven’t committed a terrorist act against the United States? What about harboring bin Laden as complicit in that terrorist act? Maybe part of the problem here is the poor memory? Forgive? Maybe. Forget? No. Rewrite history for them? HELL NO! Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
NutsInNY
Mar 7, 09 3:11 PM CST
Another good idea coming from Team Obama... Yet more sophisticated foreign policy, a 'divide and conquer' approach to Afghanistan and the Taliban, instead of the simplistic 'with us or aginst us' crap of the previous 8 years...
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IN RESPONSE:
NutsInNY
Mar 7, 09 3:22 PM CST
Rob, that's a fair list of ugly Taliban deeds... Personally, here is the order I would put them in, from most to least odious: (1) terrorist acts against the United States, (2) harboring bin Laden, (3) beheadings, (4) acid throwing, (5) terrorizing of girls simply wanting to go to school, (5) caning, (6) the destruction of the sandstone Buddhas... Now, for the sake of expediency -- i.e., if it might help us actually succeed in Afghanistan -- which items from your list would you be willing to turn a blind eye to temporarily?
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Forderon
Mar 7, 09 3:07 PM CST
Yea dude, good job rambling typical ignorant talking points. Read the article and learn about the region before talking. Smart people say we need to use diplomacy to isolate the two groups because what we're doing right now is just bombing everyone and further alienating the common people, who then start to think that the order that Taliban provides is the better option. But go ahead and use the same strategy that Bush used for 8 years. See how that works for you. Reply
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