A policy of defeat in Afghansitan

Nial Gardiner:

...

In effect Miliband is saying that Britain and the United States must be willing to place cooperative, supposedly more reasonable wings of the Taliban back in local power in Afghanistan. This would be like putting the Nazis back in office after the fall of Berlin or the Khmer Rouge in charge of Cambodia again. No matter how much spin is placed on this negotiating strategy, it smacks of defeatism and appeasement, and a failure to place the conflict in Afghanistan within the broader context of a global war against a brutal Islamist ideology that seeks the destruction of the West and the free world.

British, American, Canadian and other NATO troops are not dying on the battlefields of south Asia to facilitate the return of a medieval-style government steeped in barbarism where women are treated as fourth-class citizens and individual liberty is non-existent. It would be only a matter of time before an Afghanistan dominated by “moderate” Taliban returned to its old position as a safe haven for al-Qaeda to launch attacks against New York, Washington or London.

...

Great Britain should have no truck with any strategy that allows a return to political power for the Taliban of whatever stripe. If this foolhardy policy is executed -and there are already signs it is backed by the Obama administration - it may ultimately lead to negotiations with al-Qaeda-linked groups in the region as well.

...

I am with Nial on this one. In fact the arguments of the other side overlook the fact that there are no moderate Taliban. There maybe some misguided people fighting with them, but they have no trouble going against them when the tide turns. But first you have to turn the tide and discredit the Taliban and their religious bigot ideology.

The idea that one can negotiate with nihilist is absurd.