"Good, good, use your anger..."

I've become irritated with NATO in the past few days, as talks with 'moderate Taliban' have emerged and by today are becoming bolder after the summit in London. Over a hundred million dollars has been allocated to buy-off disenchanted fighters.


This completely undermines the reason the West is in Afghanistan and makes our armed forces' sacrifices completely pointless if we are now giving the Taliban the 'olive branch'. Carrots will not work... fundamentalists like the Taliban only understand the language of the stick, especially when they are undertaking fourth generation warfare. 


Who are the 'moderate Taliban'? Pakistan tried a political settlement with the Taliban within their borders. Time and time again the Pakistani Taliban enroached on the more civilised parts of the country until the government had to go back to square one and try to push out the Taliban with brute force which, so far, has heralded some good results. The Afghan Taliban will do the same. Yes, they will use any respite in fighting to regroup, muster more resources in preparation for the eventual armed struggle with the incumbent Kabul government when the West will have pulled out and left Afghanistan to its own fate. 


Let's not forget the reason we went there; the Taliban harboured Al-Qaeda and developed a symbiotic relationship with them. The Taliban have as much to do with 9/11 and previous Al-Qaeda attacks as bin Laden himself. Like it or not, we are at war with them, over our values and security. The Taliban refused to hand over Al-Qaeda to the US, and (almost) caused their own destruction. If any more reminders are needed, what we do in and with Afghanistan (and Pakistan) will affect our long term domestic security. Indirectly, Al-Qaeda is still orchestrating and attempting to disrupt Western life. The 25th December attempt is a reminder. Glasgow 2007, another. They are in it for the long run. We, as the Western population, are forgetting that. 


A ceasefire and a peace with the Taliban intact will be an enormous propaganda victory to Islamic fundamentalists all over the world. Another huge recruitment tool. Let's not forget that indoctrinated and brainwashed individuals are or were also the victims of Islamic extremists. The Taliban will be able to portray itself as beating the most technologically advanced and most powerful military alliance on Earth. Need I say anymore on this point?


Which is why I'd prefer to see a huge effort now to press on the Taliban while there are signs of fatigue on their side. Mao Zedong and Ho-Chi Minh can teach us a lot here. We pursue when they retreat. When they tire, we cripple them. We can deliver reeling blows if the effort is there. There are news reports of a planned major British push in Helmand. Hopefully this will show some determination to keep fighting on our side.


Generally speaking, the Afghan population supports the effort against the Taliban. That may be the most important aspect of our mission there. Afghans have begun to enjoy many freedoms never before seen, how will that taste of liberal individualism affect Afghan society in the years to come?


Keep pushing the Taliban NATO, that will make them easier to deal with and take the smug smiles off their faces at the table. Otherwise the West looks like it really is losing its stomach for conflict.


I'll finish with a very interesting line from a certain video game. Some may recognise it:


"A culture's teachings, and most importantly, the nature of its people, achieve definition in conflict. They find themselves... or find themselves lacking."