Afghan war cannot be won militarily: U.N.

[Nambe]

Source: Reuters breaking

KABUL (Reuters) - The war in Afghanistan cannot be won militarily and success is only possible through political means including dialogue between all relevant parties, the United Nations' top official in the country said Monday.

His comments come after Britain's military commander in Afghanistan said the war could not be won and that the goal was to reduce the insurgency to a level where it was no longer a strategic threat and could be dealt with by the Afghan army.

Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith said if the Taliban were willing to talk, that might be "precisely the sort of progress" needed to end the insurgency. ...

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4955RW20081006?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true

[balantz]

1. Unless winning means smashing them to smithereens

like we have done to Iraq, or perhaps even worse than that.

[ixion]

5. well, we haven't won in Iraq, either

only managed to create a massive failed state.

[anarch]

2. and this has been your "well, no shit" moment for today

you know, in case the many centuries of history in the region weren't enough for you.

[JohnyCanuck]

3. The big obstacle in talks with the Taliban

would probably be getting them to agree to let the drug trade (which they had totally shut down) continue. The billions in drug profits flowing into shaky western economies and financial institutions are needed to help keep them propped up.

Since the Taliban are unlikely to agree, we can probably expect the the sacrifice of US and NATO soldiers and Afghan civilians will continue unabated.

Britain is protecting the biggest heroin crop of all time
By CRAIG MURRAY (a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan)

SNIP

In six years, the occupation has wrought one massive transformation in Afghanistan, a development so huge that it has increased Afghan GDP by 66 per cent and constitutes 40 per cent of the entire economy. That is a startling achievement, by any standards. Yet we are not trumpeting it. Why not?

The answer is this. The achievement is the highest harvests of opium the world has ever seen.

The Taliban had reduced the opium crop to precisely nil. I would not advocate their methods for doing this, which involved lopping bits, often vital bits, off people. The Taliban were a bunch of mad and deeply unpleasant religious fanatics. But one of the things they were vehemently against was opium.

SNIP

Our economic achievement in Afghanistan goes well beyond the simple production of raw opium. In fact Afghanistan no longer exports much raw opium at all. It has succeeded in what our international aid efforts urge every developing country to do. Afghanistan has gone into manufacturing and 'value-added' operations.

It now exports not opium, but heroin. Opium is converted into heroin on an industrial scale, not in kitchens but in factories. Millions of gallons of the chemicals needed for this process are shipped into Afghanistan by tanker. The tankers and bulk opium lorries on the way to the factories share the roads, improved by American aid, with Nato troops.

How can this have happened, and on this scale? The answer is simple. The four largest players in the heroin business are all senior members of the Afghan government ? the government that our soldiers are fighting and dying to protect.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-469983/Britain-protecting-biggest-heroin-crop-time.html

[dflprincess]

4. I bet the former Soviet Union could have told us that

Of course, France tried to warn us about Viet Nam. I wonder if the U.S. will listen this time.

[ohio2007]

6. Taliban split with al Qaeda, seek peace ( Taliban concede they can't win )

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Taliban leaders are holding Saudi-brokered talks with the Afghan government to end the country's bloody conflict -- and are severing their ties with al Qaeda, sources close to the historic discussions have told CNN.

The militia, , has been involved in four days of talks hosted by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, says the source.

The talks -- mark a significant move by the Saudi leadership to take a direct role in Afghanistan, hosting delegates who have until recently been their enemies.

They also mark a sidestepping of key "war on terror" ally Pakistan, frequently accused of not doing enough to tackle militants sheltering on its territory, which has previously been a conduit for talks between the Saudis and Afghanistan. According to the source, fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar -- was not present, but his representatives were keen to stress the reclusive cleric is no longer allied to al Qaeda.

snip
A second round of talks is scheduled to take place in two months, the Saudi source said.

The Afghan government believes the Taliban cannot be defeated militarily, and the Taliban believe that they can't win a war against the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, the Saudi source said.

snip

King Abdullah broke fast during the Eid al-Fitr holiday with the 17-member Afghan delegation -- an act intended to show his commitment to ending the conflict. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.

Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries that recognized the Taliban leadership during its rule over Afghanistan in the 1990s-


snip


http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/06/afghan.saudi.talks/?iref=mpstoryview

yeah,
I'm sure the Saudi's can be trusted to bring 'peace' to the region. Just like the way they schooled and educated the children of Pakistan in the ways of peace.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-KHHKuVVRc

[unkachuck]

7. maybe the talks will produce peace....

....and maybe peace might spread throughout the region....

....then we could take our 50000 troops out of Afghanistan, remove our 130000 troops from Iraq and invade New York City to fight the real global terrorists on wall street....