Negotiating With The Devil

But it's another dimension of this notion that seems to have most enraged Layton's critics. It's the accusation that he's prepared to cozy up to the devil, that the Taliban are beyond the pale of normal discourse, that any suggestion of negotiating with them is unthinkable, immoral, tantamount to giving them legitimacy. This charge reflects either great ignorance or great hypocrisy. Look at those we do talk to. In fact look at those with whom we happily cooperate, beginning in Afghanistan itself. The Karzai government, our close ally, is awash in warlords guilty of massive crimes against humanity, unscrupulous drug peddlers and officials who massively steal reconstruction funds. Most Western governments readily embrace the dictators who run Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Libya and Uzbekistan. Six-nation talks go on with North Korea. The U.S. threw bags of money at violent Somalian warlords in their clash with religious extremists. A deal has just been done with the psychopathic Lord's Resistance Army that offers amnesty in return for ending their nihilistic insurgency in northern Uganda. http://www.rabble.ca/politics.shtml?sh_itm=0a055934e56bebabde1f8add0cabaefb&rXn=1&;

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