Afghan Taliban Archives - Just Foreign Policy

The Richard Holbrooke Memorial Peace Talks to End the Afghan War

December 14, 2010

When a Member of Congress dies, sometimes other Members name a bill after that Member that advances some cause identified with the Member. So, for example, we had the “Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act” – Kennedy was a champion of volunteer service. Such naming has multiple effects. Of course it honors the departed. But,…

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Is the Pentagon Deliberately “Degrading” Afghanistan’s Capacity for Peace?

October 28, 2010

On Wednesday, the Washington Post carried a remarkable article reporting that according to U.S. government assessments, the U.S. military escalation in Afghanistan has failed. The Post’s Greg Miller reported that An intense military campaign aimed at crippling the Taliban has so far failed to inflict more than fleeting setbacks on the insurgency Miller explains…

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The Taliban Might Negotiate, Even If They Think They’re Winning

October 26, 2010

You can’t follow U.S. print media coverage of the war in Afghanistan for any length of time without running into some variation of the following assertion: "The Taliban Will Never Negotiate, As Long As They Think They’re Winning." No serious effort is usually made to substantiate this claim, which is asserted as if it…

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Why Peaceniks Should Care About the Afghanistan Study Group Report

September 10, 2010

There is a tradition among some peace activists of striking a pose of annoyed indifference to the question of how to get out of an unpopular war. "There are three ways to get out," goes one waggish response. "Air, land, and sea." This is funny and emotionally satisfying, and also represents a truth for peace…

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54% for Afghan Exit, but Petraeus Move Could Nix Peace Talks with Terror Naming

July 15, 2010

The majority of Americans want the Obama Administration to establish a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, CBS News reports. 54% think the U.S. should set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, with 41% opposed. Among Democrats, 73% think the U.S. should set a timetable, with 21% opposed;…

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Could a “Great Negotiation” End the War in Afghanistan?

July 12, 2010

A commonly proffered argument against negotiations to end the war in Afghanistan has been: "why should the Afghan Taliban negotiate, when they think they are winning?" For many months, this argument was offered by Administration officials to explain why they would not yet pursue serious negotiations with senior leaders of the Afghan Taliban. More recently,…

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Congressional Pressure Can Help End the War, Saving Many Lives

April 6, 2010

In the next several weeks, Congress is likely to be asked to approve $33 billion more for the war in Afghanistan, mainly to pay for the current military escalation, whose focus is the planned assault on the Afghan city of Kandahar. Some Members of Congress will vote no on the funding. A larger group of…

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Eat Your Spinach: Time for Peace Talks in Afghanistan

February 2, 2010

In the last week the New York Times and Inter Press Service have reported that the Obama Administration is having an internal debate on whether to supports talks with senior Afghan Taliban leaders, including Mullah Muhammad Omar, as a means of ending the war in Afghanistan. Senior officials like Vice President Biden are said to…

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UN: Time for Direct Talks with Afghan Taliban Leaders

January 26, 2010

The top United Nations official for Afghanistan has called for direct talks with senior Taliban leaders. Is anyone in Washington listening? The New York Times reported Sunday that Kai Eide, the United Nations special representative for Afghanistan, “called on Afghan officials to seek the removal of at least some senior Taliban leaders from the United…

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McChrystal’s 40,000 Troop Hoax

October 13, 2009

It’s a time-honored Washington tradition. If you want to bully the government into doing something unpopular and the public into accepting it, manufacture a false emergency. Iraq war? If you don’t approve it, mushroom cloud. Banker or IMF bailout? If you don’t approve it, financial collapse. Social security privatization? If you don’t approve it, the…

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