# Think tank warns that talking to Taliban is a tactic that has failed before



## CougarKing (13 Mar 2009)

How much weight does ICG's warnings carry with governments is another question to ask.



> Agence France-Presse - 3/13/2009 3:02 AM GMT
> *Warning to US on talks with Taliban: think-tank*
> Talking to insurgents to try to restore some stability to Afghanistan is an old tactic that has failed badly in the past, a leading international think-tank said in a fresh warning to Washington.
> 
> ...


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## The Bread Guy (13 Mar 2009)

Given the range of former politicians from around the world on the board and the wide range of governments (including Canada through DFAIT, CIDA and the International Development Research Centre) funding the group, I hope it's not completely zero impact.  I've also heard a lot of people who hunt down info for decision makers consider this a pretty good source as well.

If you want to check out the study, click here - here's they're "Do/Don't Do" List:


> ....What Should Be Done
> 
> *In Afghanistan*
> *     _Back representative government:_ ....
> ...


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## ModlrMike (13 Mar 2009)

Well....... duh!

Someone's grasp of the obvious is outstanding.

Seriously though, our left leaning media has already brainwashed the public into thinking Afghanistan is a lost cause, a fight for oil, a US imperialist venture, or all three. Reason and fact have no place here.


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## Yrys (14 Mar 2009)

Warning to US about Taleban talks, BBC News, Friday, 13 March 2009






The Taleban are believed to have safe 
havens in the Afghan border region

Great caution must be exercised in any talks with Afghan insurgents, an influential 
think-tank has said in a warning to Kabul and Washington. The International Crisis 
Group said previous deals had broken down within months and strengthened the 
militants. Instead, it said Afghans needed a stronger state and the rule of law.

US President Barack Obama has floated the idea of talking to moderate Taleban 
elements as part of a new strategy for the war against the militants. US Joint Chiefs 
of Staff Chairman Adm Mike Mullen said on Friday that the Obama administration 
was close to announcing the new strategy.

US officials say that key objectives will be getting Pakistani help in the fight against 
extremism and reducing American expectations for military victory. The White House 
expects to announce the new objectives for the war - which it admits is not being 
won - next week.

President Obama has recently ordered the deployment of additional 17,000 troops 
to Afghanistan. Since the Taleban was ousted in 2001, the number of US troops in 
Afghanistan has risen to about 70,000.


*'No easy options'*

In its report, the Brussels-based ICG warned that previous truce deals with militants 
in Afghanistan and Pakistan "enhanced the power and activities of violent insurgents, 
while doing nothing to build sustainable institutions".

Instead, the ICG called for the strengthening of security, democracy and the rule of 
law to win over war-weary Afghans. "Only when citizens perceive the state as legitimate 
and capable of delivering security, good governance and [the] rule of law will Afghans 
be able to resist jihadi presssures and overtures," the report said.

The think-tank admitted that there were no easy options in fighting militants. "We know 
now what no to do... Knowing what to do, and how to do it, is harder," the ICG said.

President Barack Obama's administration is close to announcing its new strategy for 
the war against the Taleban in Afghanistan, officials say. "We're just about done," 
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm Mike Mullen said. Officials say that key objectives 
will be getting Pakistani help in the fight against extremism and reducing American 
expectations for military victory.

The White House expects to announce the new objectives for the war - which it admits 
is not being won - next week.

*Safe havens*

Officials say that the role of Pakistan is critical within the new strategy and that it must 
be made to realise that doing more to contain extremism is in its own interests as well 
as those of the international community. 

President Obama is expected to explain his plans to allies when he attends a Nato summit 
in Europe next month. His priorities are expected to mirror 15 goals detailed in a 20-page 
classified report to the White House from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Prominent among them 
are eradicating Taleban and al-Qaeda safe havens in north-western Pakistan, pursuing a 
regional approach to reduce extremism while simultaneously boosting economic aid.

Another top priority is to ensure that the Afghan government does not collapse as a result
of the Taleban insurgency - an objective officials say again can only be fulfilled by securing 
the co-operation of Pakistan and by substantially increasing the size of Afghanistan's security 
forces.

*Better governance*

Adm Mullen said that the review addresses "the safe haven in Pakistan, making sure that 
Afghanistan doesn't provide a capability in the long run or an environment in which al-Qaeda 
could return or the Taleban could return". He said it was also important to ensure Afghanistan 
remained stable and had better governance.

The in-house review was carried out by the White House National Security Council and details 
objectives over the next three to five years. Officials stress that the timeframe of the review 
does not mean that the US military will leave within that time.

Gen David Petraeus, head of US Central Command, and Richard Holbrooke, the US special 
envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, met more 12 senators to discuss the war on Thursday.

Correspondents say that the meeting was part of the administration's effort to gather support 
for trimmed-down US objectives in Afghanistan, especially in relation to democracy and 
self-sufficiency.

A key premise is that the military alone cannot win the war, officials said. But part of the 
strategy is also military, with the deployment of 17,000 additional troops this year in order 
to "buy time" for less tangible counterinsurgency tactics to take hold.


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