Are diplomats trying to make deals with Iraqi insurgents? What happened to not dealing with terrorists?

Question

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/world/middleeast/26zal.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Well then, if Americans should be smart enough to know that backroom diplomatic deals are being made, why all the flag waving, "we'll never negotiate" talk?
At what point does the reality of Bush foreign relations deal in the here and now, instead of being truthful to our citizens who are bleeding in the sands of Iraq?

They can not negotiate through back channels to enter a city. They can not publicly lie to a nation and retain the high level of courage and commitment that our soldiers demand of themselves, and is expected by their countrymen, but yet, the commander in Chief can make deals with the very enemy our sons and daughters are being killed by.

Answer 1

The deal is the same one that has been around for a couple of years - amnesty for anybody who has not committed a war crime.

Answer 2

You may have heard of the deal that has been struck in Northern Ireland today. That has come after 40 years of terrorist violence against the British Army and the local population - there are many parallels with Iraq.

In Northern Ireland the British authotities consistently made public statements that they would never talk to terrorists, while at the same time negotiating in the background.

In Northern Ireland, we could have still been blowing each other to bits if it had not been for these secret talks and many more people would have died needlessly in the process - both innocent bystanders as well as young men sent there to fight on behalf of their country. Unfortunately it is the politicians who send these young men into a war that they can never win, simply because their political skills have failed - war is the end result of failed politics.

While it may be unpalatable, the Iraq situation can only be solved by making peace with your enemies - a difficult process, but the end result can be a peace like the one we have worked so hard to get today in Northern Ireland. The only solution is to demand that your politicians do their jobs properly and find a way out of the violence.

Answer 3

Well, clearly, not dealing with them forces us to deal with them in other ways-- e.g. continued warfare.

We're not talking about hostages in a plane or embassy. This is still a war and the side just happens to be terrorists/rebels/insurgence. Fighting will not stop until they are either destroyed (not soon) or they can be persuaded to lay down their arms. Clearly, 4 years of fighting with no end in sight, is not the total solution. The solution is political and military.

Answer 4

It's an ignorant position to close off all lines of communication.

There is an old saying, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Words to live by...apparently lost on people these days.