Can there be peace in Afghanistan?

[Topaz]

The President of this Afg. wants to have peace talks and peace in this country is long over due, with over 30 years of fighting. Can the people of this country forgive all those who have killed Afghans including NATO? I watched 5th estate, the other night and it shown a 5-7year old boy who got caught in an explosion set off by the Dutch. The boys parents and sister were killed and he had his chin and left-side of his face injured and had to have surgeon by the Canadian team. It was so sad to see this little boy so scared and have only now his grandfather to look after him. I'm not sure we are doing the right thing over there but I do know that too many children are being killed and for the children, who will have scars for life, I hope both sides of this peace issue do it for the children and keep them from being another fault victim of this war. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05/09/afghan-army-official-afghans-beheaded-militants-killed-fierce-gunbattle/

[Borg]

Collateral damage is inevitable in any conflict

Borg

[Sir Bandelot]

Collateral damage is inevitable in any conflict

Borg

Yeah, but that doesn't mean we should just accept it and not try to help them do something to end peoples suffering. From what I read in the link, I think the Afghanis just want the war and all associated violence (ie. Taliban) to stop. If there is a way to bring peace to Afghanistan, including reconciliation with the taliban, I think we should try to achieve that.

[Borg]

I think the Afghanis just want the war and all associated violence (ie. Taliban) to stop.

Negotiate with Taliban with the same success the Pakistanis did in SWOT - there is no negotiation with terrorists unless you are prepared to follow through.

Collateral damage is always mitigated to the max - still unpreventable.

Your "accept" comment shows you have no clue about it.

Your peace is not a peace - it is a surrender - maybe not to you - but to the Talibs it is.

Makes you weak - and they come back - because the koran allows islamics to lie to unbelievers and commit no sin.

You are simply another weak and stupid westerner to them.

Stop judging by using your ideals and the way you were raised and start using theirs.

Strength and strength alone is respected.

That is why the west cannot win - no such thing as a moderate - they are here now and they will stop being moderaste some day. But westerners as a whole will not believe this. Time will come when it will be too late.

Now go have a nice day.

Borg

[Sir Bandelot]

That is why the west cannot win

First of all, don't kill the messenger. I don't see negotiation with them as a solution either because the hardliners would still be in control over the Afghani government. Fact is they already are.

By the way in case you haven't noticed, the west is not the ones who are pushing for reconciliation with the Taliban. It's from Karzai himself, and he's been saying it with increasing loudness for a few years now. You probably heard he even threatened to "join" them.

Ironically the US is now poised to vote in several billion more dollars for this creep and his government of criminals. Why? Because our hands are tied? Sounds just like a quagmire.

We will not be able to transform Afghanistan into a western utopia. The Taliban are only one faction in that country that seeks to maintain Islamic sharia laws. It's actually part of the national consciousness. So what is the definition of "win".