Would a reconciliation or compromise with militants/insurgents be a good idea in Iraq/Afghanistan...Yes/No...?

Question

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - President Hamid Karzai on Saturday offered to meet with the Taliban leader and give militants a government position only hours after a suicide bomber in army disguise attacked a military bus, killing 30 people - nearly all of them Afghan soldiers.

Strengthening a call for negotiations he has made with increasing frequency in recent weeks, Karzai said he was willing to meet with the reclusive leader Mullah Omar and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister and factional warlord leader.

"If I find their address, there is no need for them to come to me, I'll personally go there and get in touch with them," Karzai said. "Esteemed Mullah, sir, and esteemed Hekmatyar, sir, why are you destroying the country?"

Karzai said he has contacts with Taliban militants through tribal elders but that there are no direct and open government communication channels with the fighters. Omar's whereabouts are not known, although Karzai has claimed he is in Quetta, Pakistan, a militant hotbed across the border from Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

"If a group of Taliban or a number of Taliban come to me and say, 'President, we want a department in this or in that ministry or we want a position as deputy minister ... and we don't want to fight anymore,' ... If there will be a demand and a request like that to me, I will accept it because I want conflicts and fighting to end in Afghanistan," Karzai said.

"I wish there would be a demand as easy as this. I wish that they would want a position in the government. I will give them a position," he said.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul has said it does not support negotiations with Taliban fighters, labeling them as terrorists, although the U.N. and NATO have said an increasing number of Taliban are interested in laying down their arms. NATO's ambassador to Afghanistan, Daan Everts, said this month that the alliance would look into the possibility of talks.

President Bush met with Karzai on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday where the two discussed the battle against al-Qaida and the Taliban, but it has not been made public whether the two talked about negotiations with militants.

Answer 1

Karzai is weak and it is questionable whether he and the US can hold Afghanistan together long enough for anything resembling a democracy to take hold.
I think Karzai should get rid of the poppy fields there, and if he does not, our DEA should come in and do it. We should do that because their drug farms are a threat to our own peace and national security.
Other than that, is it really our business to "micro-manage" Afghanistan for the long run? Why did we think it would be easy or even successful?
Karzai is slippery and treacherous, while the Taliban is murderous. Take your pick.

Answer 2

Of course not. There are too many issues that can never be reconciled. Too many people in positions of power have a lot to gain from conflict. They have nothing to gain, and a lot to lose, by resolving the conflict.
There's no need to explore the issues, just look at Israel and Palestine.

Answer 3

I will always support the theory that talking is better than waring. One has to remember that even terrorists have a cause, maybe not one that we would agree with but a compromise can sometimes be reached. At least it is always worth a try even if it fails.Only if all else fails do we have to go to war. Sir Winston Churchill once said "Its better to yaw yaw than war war"

Answer 4

i read your question. but did not read your own answer. my response to your question is yes. hope it helps.
ps. it would immensely help us --if you just ask a question. thanks for the courtesy.

Answer 5

bad idea.