Talking to the Taliban — Obama Style
The president is not the first person to float the idea of negotiating with so-called "moderate Taliban" — or the first to presume such a thing exists.
The most surprising thing about President Obama’s suggestion that America should perhaps reach out to moderate Taliban is undoubtedly the very expression “moderate Taliban.”
But President Obama is not the first person to imagine that there is such a thing. In April 2007, while on a visit to Kabul, the then chairman of the German Social Democratic party (SPD), Kurt Beck, suggested that it might be a good idea to hold talks with … “moderate Taliban.”
“We can explore the possibility of national reconciliation involving the Taliban,” Beck explained in remarks that echo almost word-for-word those of Obama, as reported by the New York Times last Saturday. Obama is also said to want to “explore” the “possibility” of “reconciliation” — and with “moderate Taliban,” no less. But, to be more precise, it is rather Obama’s remarks that echo those of Beck uttered almost two years earlier.
Beck’s words, moreover, were presumably chosen in consultation with the German Foreign Office of Beck’s party colleague, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Thus, at an April 3, 2007, press conference (German link), a foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed that, “the foreign minister is in constant contact with Herr Beck” and that Beck and Steinmeier had a “common appraisal” of the situation in Afghanistan. Asked what, then, “a moderate Taliban would look like,” the spokesperson merely pointed out that it would be better to speak not of “moderate Taliban” but rather of “moderate forces within the resistance.” By dubbing the Taliban the Afghan “resistance” [Widerstand], Steinmeier’s foreign office, in effect, conferred even greater legitimacy upon them than Beck’s original version had.
It has been reported that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has welcomed Obama’s suggestion. One can assume he is being polite. Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta was less so two years ago. The expression “moderate Taliban,” he told Germany’s NDR television, “is the invention of people who do not have a clue about Afghanistan.” Referring to Germany’s neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD) and the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of which Beck is governor, Spanta added that Beck’s suggestion to hold talks with “moderate” Taliban was about as appropriate “as if I would say from Afghanistan or Kabul that one should form a coalition in Rhineland-Palatinate with the NPD or with ‘moderate’ [members of the] NPD” (source: Die Welt).
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John Rosenthal’s writings on European politics and transatlantic relations have appeared in English, French, and German in such leading publications as Policy Review, Les Temps Modernes, and Merkur. He holds a PhD in philosophy and he taught political philosophy and classical German philosophy before turning to journalism. More of his work can be found at Transatlantic Intelligencer.
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19 Comments
1. Benson:Let’s all get into the spirit of the concept. This has given me the inspiration to start a social club for “soft” rapists — you know, guys who don’t mark the gals up too much.
Mar 15, 2009 - 4:07 am 2. Pops in Vienna:Gee, we should have negotiated with moderate Nazis like Speer, Hess and Goering, WW II would have been much shorter.
Funny how the Germans are behind this.
Mar 15, 2009 - 4:31 am 3. Knight7540:Europe Does not get it …Neither Does Obama ..nothing soft or moderate about them
Mar 15, 2009 - 6:42 am 4. Craig:Moderate Taliban is an oxymoron just like Jumbo Shrimp, Act Naturally, and Liberal Economics.
Mar 15, 2009 - 6:53 am 5. Parabellum:As Tim Blair said “Moderate Taliban” only chop off half of your head.
Mar 15, 2009 - 7:23 am 6. Barry 0351:Sure thang Turtle, talk but do not be surprised to get these answers back.
Mar 15, 2009 - 7:24 am 7. Mike Blackadder:1. Submit to Islam.
2. pay the Jizyah tax.
or
3. bare your throat and prepare to die.
See that was easy!
The audacity of standing for nothing.
Mar 15, 2009 - 9:46 am 8. William:Mohammad died in 632AD. The message of Islam has not changed in 1377 years; Islam = surrender.
Mar 15, 2009 - 12:12 pm 9. WestGuard:Obama proves that being educated and being intelligent are not synonomous.
It was humiliating enough to watch Hillary go clucking to the filthy Syrian regime, then donate a big chunk of our money to the worthless palestinians, but Obamas latest act of stupidity and surrender is just too much.
Gee, maybe the “0″ can also get the less virulent strains of the flu virus to go against their more deadly kin too.
The captain of our ship is delusional and steering us toward the rocks!
Mar 15, 2009 - 12:20 pm 10. Meryl:Well, I suppose there are potential Taliban talkers who see the boy wonder as a “moderate American” (i.e., an American Presentent who doesn’t care about America), and therefore they would be glad to talk, “moderate to moderate”.
Of course, right after the conversation, ala Daniel Pearl, they would have to cut his head off. But I suppose his handlers will develop a plan w/re to that.
Mar 15, 2009 - 12:45 pm 11. Moogie:You know, I am growing to dislike the word “moderate” almost as much as I dislike the word “tolerance.”
Mar 15, 2009 - 2:01 pm 12. Tom:Liberalism
lib·er·al·ism /ˈlɪbərəˌlɪzəm, ˈlɪbrə-/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation [lib-er-uh-liz-uhm, lib-ruh-]
–noun
1. The quality or state of being liberal, as in behavior or attitude.
2. A profound mental disorder of unknown etiology, characterized by a marked disassociation from objective reality. Its victims display an inability to grasp facts or understand even the most basic rational concepts. It is thought to be a disease of arrested intellectual development as many of Liberalisms victims display a childlike immaturity. Analytic and rational thought are impossible. Magical thinking and almost infantile fantasies based on unfulfilled emotional needs are substituted for adult reasoning.
Origin theories:
Liberalism is theorized by some to be the result of a as yet unknown virus, as it appears to spread through a population in geometric fashion. Others say that childhood exposure to neurotoxic poisons in the environment may be responsible. Evidence presented for this is that the more time a child (or adult) spends in government funded public education buildings the more likely it is they will contract liberalism and the more profound is the infection and subsequent severe cerebral atrophy. To date no chemical or substance has yet been isolated from these buildings that might cause the disease.
There is no known vaccine or cure, but it has been noted that individuals exposed to the realities that directly contradict their delusions sometimes show improvement. The longer their exposure to reality, the greater the curative effect seems to be.
A number scientific studies indicate that Liberalism has become so widespread that Western civilization may become extinct in its present form unless a cure can be found.
[Origin: 1810–20; liberal + -ism]
—Related forms
Mar 15, 2009 - 2:36 pm 13. PatriotUSA:lib·er·al·ist, noun, adjective
lib·er·al·is·tic, adjective
Outright stupidity and ignorance but what else have learned to expect from this administration.
Mohammad died in 632AD. The message of Islam has not changed in 1377 years; Islam = surrender.
I would like to add other “moderate” points about islam: Female genital mutilation, slavery,
persecution of all other religions. islam is an ideaology, not religion in my book. Back to the points; dhimmi way of 3rd class life at best if one agrees to live “under” islamic rule without conversion, and they will kill you later, horrible treatment of women, denial of education for women, violence, death, the ruination of any other cultures and societies other than islamic,sexual perversion allowed under qur’an and ok’d by mohammed and I am sure fellow posters can add some other lowlights of islam.
See what has happened in Pakistan’s Swat region, especially to women since the pak
goverment agreed to let the taliban rule that region. There are NO MODERATES IN THE TALIBAN, NO MODERATES IN ISLAM. There can be NO peace with islam nor is there any peace within islam. Look around the world at all the cnflicts and wars right now and ALMOST ALL involve islam.
Obuma and his ilk are all fools and are becoming the second Carter administration. Except Obuma’s will be much worse and this country will suffer deeply before his first and only term are over.
Mar 15, 2009 - 6:54 pm 14. WestGuard:#12 Tom,
ROFL! That’s the most hilarious, yet accurate description of the illness “liberalism” I’ve ever seen!
Mar 15, 2009 - 8:47 pm 15. JD:On what basis do you start negotiations with religious fanatics who practice beheadings, eye-gouging, executing homosexuals and throwing acid over women, etc?
They do not recognize democracy, secularism, representative politics at all, so how will agreement be reached on government?
All they are interested in is our destruction and downfall. Why is that so hard to understand for members of the Left?
http://trackacrat.com/2009/03/08/historys-lessons-must-be-heeded/
Mar 16, 2009 - 8:26 am 16. deguello:“MODERATE TALIBAN”? IS THAT LIKE:” GORGEOUS MICHELLE OBAMA?”
Mar 16, 2009 - 9:33 am 17. donttreadonme:The “moderate” Taliban uses a sharp and keen machete when lopping off your head; the “radical” Taliban uses any old dull sling blade. “Hmmm, I’ll reckon I’ll have some of them fried potaters..”
Mar 17, 2009 - 12:18 pm 18. Pat J:Is there anything wrong with actually talking to people and helping to break the cycle of violence over there? Answer: Nothing.
Provided such a thing as “moderate Taliban” actually exists. I remember before we invaded when there was a news story about how the Taliban wanted Hindus to start wearing some sort of identifying symbol on their clothing. That to me sounded a lot like Nazi Germany’s treatment of the Jews before the Holocaust.
Mar 17, 2009 - 1:43 pm 19. Venham:JD,I don’t know about the executing of homosexuals. When I was in Afghanistan I learned that through out the M.E. their culture shared the ancient Greek notion that boys are for fun and girls are for babies.
Mar 17, 2009 - 7:17 pm