The heroin of the chattering classes

Ralph Peters:

NEGOTIATIONS are the heroin of the chattering classes, blinding them to every reality except the next fix they can inject into our foreign policy. The pushers - our delighted enemies - pile up strategic profits.

Certainly, there are situations in which negotiations make sense, such as structuring trade terms or defining alliance contributions. But the notion that, if only we can sit down with our enemies, we'll inevitably persuade them to love us is a deadly self-delusion.

There's a looming danger that President-elect Obama's naive and profoundly anti-military cadres will misinterpret Gen. David Petraeus' tactic of opening communications with Taliban elements and seek to make talks the centerpiece of the new administration's Afghan policy. If so, we might as well pack up and leave now.

No American soldier should die just so diplomats can rack up frequent-flyer miles.

Negotiations during a conflict only work to our advantage when we're in a position of strength that threatens the enemy's existence or when bloodied opponents have wearied of the fight. Both conditions applied in Iraq.

They don't apply in Afghanistan. In Iraq, al Qaeda had worn out its welcome. The Sunni Arabs wanted our help. In Afghanistan, Taliban-style Islamist fanaticism has a deep constituency. While most Afghans don't want the Taliban back, a fierce minority does. And, unlike Iraq's Sunni Arabs, the Taliban think they can win.

The equation is simple: We kill them, or we lose. Fighting fanatics is a zero-sum game.

And let's stop saying, "We can't kill our way out of this problem." Faced with faith-drunk killers, there's no other way out. History doesn't reveal a single exception.

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We are dealing with nihilistic enemies. We have already seen the product of negotiations with them in Pakistan where the government was deluded into thinking they could take these guys at their word only to find it was no good. That is why talking with them is a waste of carbon dioxide.