Terrorists // Current

France holds 'ETA military head'

Michele Alliot-Marie said Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, alias "Txeroki", was arrested overnight in the Pyrenees. She said... more

Cuervo
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Whether Democrat or Republican Or Independent...Dont Quit

Very inspirational...for me anyway. I hope many of you will also enjoy and be inspired by the message. Peace and love.

barbara3d
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Here we go again....EUROPE high on list

just when we are told today, another Bin Laden threat for UK, USA, who knows where else. They are pretty pissed at the Pope as... more

barbara3d
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Hamas Leader Says He's Ready to Talk to Obama

Hamas is ready to open talks with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who must deal with the Palestinian militant group if he wants... more

Bigdog_mike
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As U.S. and European officials ponder what to do about the situation in Afghanistan, they are coming to a perhaps surprising conclusion: The simplest way to stabilize the country may be to negotiate a truce with the Taliban fundamentalists.

The question isn't whether to negotiate with the Taliban but when. There's a widespread view among Bush administration officials and U.S. military commanders that it's too soon for serious talks, because any negotiation now would be from a position of weakness. Some argue for a U.S. troop buildup and an aggressive military campaign next year to secure Afghan population centers, followed by negotiations.

A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable that the U.S. would consider any discussion with the Taliban militants who gave sanctuary to Osama bin Laden as he planned the devastating attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The painful experience of Iraq and Afghanistan has convinced many U.S. commanders that if you can take an enemy off the battlefield, that's better than getting pinned down in protracted combat.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates made the argument for negotiations with the Taliban during a meeting with NATO allies who are weary. "There has to be ultimately -- and I'll underscore ultimately -- reconciliation as part of a political outcome to this," Gates said. "That's ultimately the exit strategy for all of us."

Gen. David Petraeus, who has overall responsibility for the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has made similar arguments. He believes that the U.S. must work to separate the "reconcilables" among the Taliban from those who are allied with al-Qaeda, and draw the moderates into the government. Petraeus successfully pursued that strategy with Sunni Muslim insurgents in Iraq -- encouraging them to break with al-Qaeda then forming alliances with them.

Petraeus believes an effort to co-opt the Afghan insurgency should probably be accompanied by a stronger U.S. troop presence, just as it was in Iraq. He argues that it's a mistake to think that there's a purely military solution in either country. "You can't kill or capture your way out of this," he explains.

A move to negotiate with the Taliban is already underway thanks to a quiet diplomatic push by Saudi Arabia. Late last month, at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Saudi King Abdullah met in Mecca with representatives of the Taliban and other Afghan insurgent groups headed by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, who was represented in Mecca by his brother Qayoum Karzai, supported the Saudi mediation. "We're at the very early stages now, but we do have hope for the future," Qayoum Karzai said.

President Karzai is said to have demanded that the Taliban's leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, publicly renounce bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, as a condition for further talks. A Taliban representative took this demand to Mullah Omar in his hideout in Afghanistan and returned to Mecca with a positive answer, according to a source familiar with the talks.

Mullah Omar has sent the Saudis a list of seven demands of his own, according to this source. Among the items on the Taliban agenda are a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan; a role for Taliban representatives in provincial and national government; assimilation of Taliban fighters into the Afghan army; and amnesty for guerrillas who fought against the United States.

The Saudis have proposed a second round of discussions in Mecca, when the hajj pilgrimage season begins. U.S. officials are said to be skeptical, but France and Britain appear to be encouraging the Saudi effort. Some Pakistani government and army leaders are also supportive.
Gates notes that we reached just such an accord in Iraq with Sunni insurgents. "At the end of the day, that's how most wars end," he said.
As U.S. and European officials ponder what to do about the situation in Afghanistan, they are coming to a perhaps surprising... more

starr111
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4 responses

19 days ago

Palin: 'I don't know' if abortion clinic bombers are terrorists

Say what? She can't call them terrorists, what would she call them? Abortion Clinic Bombers ARE Terrorists! Plain and... more

Conniepae
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58 responses

25 days ago

U.S. Conducts Daring Afghan Hostage Rescue

U.S. Special Forces soldiers conducte anighttime operation to free a kidnapped American working for the Army Corps of Engineers... more

starr111
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0 responses

26 days ago

U.S. warns Iraq to accept security deal

White House Predicts "Real Consequences" If Iraqis Reject Newly Negotiated Pact; Mass Grave Found Near Syria Without... more

starr111
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11 responses

26 days ago

Al-Qaeda web site supports McCain

Wow, who knew even the terrorists like John McCain. Obama should blow him out of the water with this one! Who supports the... more

rvmedia
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0 responses

27 days ago

Bomb sniffing laundromats

The plan was simple: Build a laundry and staff it with locals and a few of their own. The laundry would then send out "color... more

bedeboop
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0 responses

1 month ago

Gates, Rice Brief Lawmakers On Draft Accord With Iraq

As Iraq's Oil Flows Freely, Profits Are Stuck in Bureaucracy U.S., Iraqi Officials Question Terms of Draft Security Deal ... more

starr111
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1 month ago

Al-Qaeda Web Forums Abruptly Taken Offline

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 17 -- Four of the five main online forums that al-Qaeda's media wing uses to distribute... more

starr111
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2 responses

1 month ago

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Figure Was a Swedish Citizen - washingtonpost.com

BAGHDAD, Oct. 16 -- Al-Qaeda in Iraq's alleged No. 2 leader, who the U.S. military said died this month after a gun battle... more

starr111
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1 month ago

Who will answer these questions?

There is a list of questions over here , the questions are the main concerns of every tax payers in the world. If you can kindly... more

afridi
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0 responses

1 month ago

We're NOT Losing Afghan War Says Top General

The top NATO general in Afghanistan on Sunday rejected the idea that NATO is losing the Afghanistan war to an increasingly bloody... more

Future_America
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1 month ago

Palin: Obama “palling around with terrorists”

It’s “time to take the gloves off,” Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin said on Saturday before launching an attack that sought to link Barack Obama to a violent, 1960s-era radical group.

No ramp-up time was needed for Palin, fresh off last Thursday night’s debate. She hit the ground in Colorado and California, ’spittin’ fire’ as the folksy governor might say.

“Our opponent … is someone who sees America it seems as being so imperfect that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country,” she said, referring to a co-founder of the 1960s-era Weather Underground, an organization the FBI labeled as a domestic terrorist group.

The co-founder, Bill Ayers, now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, served on a board with Obama and held a fundraiser for him in 1995. Obama has condemned the actions of Ayers, and many media organizations have discounted any ongoing relationship between the two.

In discussing Obama and Ayers, Palin cited the newspaper that the McCain-Palin campaign regards as a foe.

“I get to bring this up not to pick a fight, but it was there in the New York Times, so we are gonna talk about it,” she said. “Turns out one of Barack’s earliest supporters is a man who, according to the New York Times, and they are hardly ever wrong, was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that quote launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and US Capitol. Wow. These are the same guys who think patriotism is paying higher taxes.”

In an email to reporters, Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan condemned Palin’s remarks and included a listing of media outlets that dispute the charge of any meaningful relationship between the two men.

“Governor Palin’s comments, while offensive, are not surprising, given the McCain campaign’s statement this morning that they would be launching Swiftboat-like attacks in hopes of deflecting attention from the nation’s economic ills. In fact, the very newspaper story Governor Palin cited in hurling her shameless attack made clear that Senator Obama is not close to Bill Ayers, much less ‘pals,’ and that he has strongly condemned the despicable acts Ayers committed 40 years ago, when Obama was eight.”

It’s “time to take the gloves off,” Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin said on Saturday before... more