Indeed, the latest figure to call for a political settlement to the Afghan conflict is a pillar of the Ottawa establishment. Gordon Smith, now director of the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria, is Canada's former ambassador to NATO and a former deputy minister of foreign affairs. His Canada in Afghanistan: Is it Working? was done for the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, a Calgary think-tank that is not known for being squishy on matters military.
Unlike Layton, Smith does not say Canada should pull its troops out of Afghanistan. Quite the contrary. He writes that Canadian troops should remain there past 2009 as part of the NATO-led force.
But he also writes that the current NATO strategy of trying to defeat the Taliban militarily cannot work.
"We do not believe that the Taliban can be defeated or eliminated as a political entity in any meaningful time frame by Western armies using military measures," he says.
The reasons for this are fourfold. First, the Taliban are still the dominant force among Pashtuns in Afghanistan's south, where Canadian troops are operating. NATO bęte noire Mullah Omar "remains unchallenged as leader of the Taliban," Smith writes. "There is no alternative representing Pashtun interests who has more clout than he."
Second, neighbouring Pakistan "is highly ambivalent about crushing the Taliban insurgency." While technically on NATO's side in this matter, important elements of the Pakistani state apparatus, Smith writes, continue to support the Taliban as their proxy in Afghanistan – mainly as a way to fend off what they see as hostile Russian and Indian influences.
To destroy the Taliban would be to end Pakistani influence in Afghanistan, he says – which perhaps explains Islamabad's less than total support for the NATO mission.
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/192967
[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on March 19, 2007]
Note: http://www.thestar.com/...

---
"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
-Max Planck
Diplomacy by diplomatic means.
A truly novel concept for Harper and his crowd.
I guess this makes the point that "diplomacy by other means" was actually a bad idea.
---
The two most common things in the universe are apparently Hydrogen and stupidity.
It is a long known military/police fact that when terrorists are willing to die, nobody can stop them.
There we have many thousands who have nothing to lose and are brainwashed by their clergy that dying for the "cause" is counted as "defending the faith", which means an immediate jump to the Seventh Heaven, where "Bulbulvoiced houries", will pamper them to eternity.
Anybody who believes this would be a damn fool not wanting to die and get out of this Earthly mess.
The Western occupiers will ultimately be forced out anyway, meanwhile people are dying on both sides, for nothing. Of course, their departure will mean civil wars, but those will have to be solved by the locals themselves and not by installed puppet governments.
Ed Deak.
So what's going on with all these idiotic suicide bombings that target the Iraqi people that any effective resistance would need on their side to survive?
The obvious answer is ....
<br />
Radicals cannot be predicted. except that they will become more and more radical, eventually self-terminating.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/3997436a12.html">http://www.stuff.co.nz/3997436a12.html</a><br />
<br />
That is why discussion with the baby-eating Talib cannot have any other outcome than an axe in the forehead for our efforts. They have shown that time and time again. All we can do is make life better for everyone else, and the Taliban will cease to have relevance.<br />
<br />
Those of us on the right know the idea of negotiating is flawed in many ways. They wouldn't have any reason to live up to their agreement; they see agreements with infidels as null and void. We have no right to negotiate on behalf of another free government; and the Afghan Government is constantally in talks with the Taliban. <br />
<br />
I know, I always write pretty much the same reply to this subject. It just seems like no one ever reads it.<p>---<br>The preceding comment deals with mature subject matter, however immaturely presented. Viewer discretion is advised.<br />
I disagree.
You just have to be willing to speak a language they understand.
This is going to sound counter-productive, but the point is valid.
There was a reason there was relative peace in Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein.
He spoke their language more fluently than they did.
---
The two most common things in the universe are apparently Hydrogen and stupidity.
Odd who gets targeted to interfered with
---
"And God said: 'Let there be Satan, so people don't blame everything on me. And let there be lawyers, so people don't blame everything on Satan."
* George Bu
in which case, oughtn't we had stand back? or is that hadn't we oughta?
Reading and agreeing are quite separate, are they not?
as sam Kinison is rumoured to have sais,"I do not condone spousal abuse, but I certainly Understand it!"
---
"And God said: 'Let there be Satan, so people don't blame everything on me. And let there be lawyers, so people don't blame everything on Satan."
* George Bu
Our "they" is their "they"
Mirror images
Pot vs. Kettle
and back again
He They Them
Like musical notes
from a xylophone.
Trance like.
---
"And God said: 'Let there be Satan, so people don't blame everything on me. And let there be lawyers, so people don't blame everything on Satan."
* George Bu
Not so. You can speak their 'language', but you are still an Infidel unworthy of their respect, and the respect nessecary to honour any agreement made. It is in the Quran, promises made to infidels need not be honoured. Which is why one Canadian soldier ended up with an axe in his head, even when honoured with the ritual of the carpet.
"There was a reason there was relative peace in Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein.
He spoke their language more fluently than they did."
Yes, when Hussien found a terrorist, he put them up against the wall and had them shot. Canadians do not speak that language, and when we turn prisoners over to people who do speak that language, our public cries 'foul!'. I have seen the comments on threads when there is implied 'prisoner abuse', so don't claim to respect Hussien's way of weeding out the radicals.
"OK, but when you speak of radicals, which group are you talking about, the American invaders or the indigenous people of Iraq?"
I did not specify, because radicals tend to polarize, and sooner or later other radicals are not 'radical' enough and become the enemy. It is the same pattern througout history, and it can be seen recently in Egypt, many Muslim countries and even in the US.
---
The preceding comment deals with mature subject matter, however immaturely presented. Viewer discretion is advised.