Talking to the Taliban

February 5, 2010

At the London Conference on the war in Afghanistan, delegates from 70 countries agreed to pursue a strategy of buying off suspected “low-level” Taliban fighters. This is nothing new. NATO countries have been funding the Taliban for years.

The assembled countries earmarked $140 million for the plan and announced that they would also attempt to bring the Taliban to the table for a negotiated peace settlement.

The Canadian Peace Alliance is in favour of a negotiated end to the war and complete removal of all NATO forces, but is concerned about the plans developed at the London conference.

1- Any NATO driven or controlled negotiation will be seen by Afghans as a capitulation to a foreign invader. One wonders why NATO, which has been unable to win the hearts and minds of the majority of Afghans, feels it has the right to decide who sits at the table for a negotiated peace.

2- NATO operations in Afghanistan serve NATO's interests. The “humanitarian” justifications for the war remain a smokescreen. The fact that the west installed some of the worst human rights abusers in the history of the country into key government and Parliamentary positions shows that there is little concern for the human rights. The US need to control Central Asia is the chief driver of the war. That will colour all of the potential negotiations. The fact that a recent US geological survey of the country has found roughly a trillion dollars in untapped minerals and energy supplies will likewise be a factor in the minds of NATO powers during any talks.

3- We were told NATO is in Afghanistan to “kill detestable murderers and scumbags”, i.e. to end Taliban rule. The hypocrisy of now extending an olive branch to the same group is staggering. In most western countries the evils of the Taliban, particularly their treatment of women, has been used as a central justification for the war. The fact that there was not a single woman in the Afghan delegation in London, shows that women's rights will not be on the agenda once again.

4- Attempts to find economic incentives to end poppy cultivation and bring people on-side with the occupation forces have already failed. Money was either not forthcoming or the amounts so small that people remained opposed to the foreign occupation. Income inequality has spiked since the occupation began with mansions for warlords and westerners springing up between slums and devastating poverty. Unless the real needs of the Afghan people are met, they will continue to support the resistance.

5- The plan for a negotiated peace was touted as the beginning of an exit strategy for NATO. This is pure fiction. Tens of thousands of troops are still being deployed to the country with no timetable for withdrawal. The war isn't winding down – it is about the get much worse.

6- The notion that NATO can both send more troops and shrink the resistance is contradictory. Every new soldier that NATO send into Afghanistan means more people join the resistance movements.

The Stop the War Coalition in the UK has correctly stated that the London conference is, “A makeover aimed at turning the tide of public opinion, running so strongly against a war which is clearly futile and unwinnable. In reality the warmongers are gathering for a war council masquerading as a peace conference.”

Any negotiation between the illegitimate NATO backed government and the Taliban will not meet the needs of the Afghan people. Only after foreign troops are removed will Afghans have the chance to decide their own future.

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