(Disclaimer for Thomas T. -- no, I don't think this is bringing down the government.)
The story as reported:
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Monday that the Afghan guerrilla war can never be won militarily and called for efforts to bring the Taliban and their supporters into the Afghan government.
Frist, aggreived:
First of all, let me make something clear: The Taliban is a murderous band of terrorists who’ve oppressed the people of Afghanistan with their hateful ideology long enough. America’s overthrow of the Taliban and support for responsible, democratic governance in Afghanistan is a great accomplishment that should not and will not be reversed.
Having discussed the situation with commanders on the ground, I believe that we cannot stabilize Afghanistan purely through military means. Our counter-insurgency strategy must win hearts and minds and persuade moderate Islamists potentially sympathetic to the Taliban to accept the legitimacy of the Afghan national government and democratic political processes.
The ever-lovely Hot Air crew:
So basically Frist’s distinguishing between the actual Taliban, whom we must defeat by any means necessary, and people who “call themselves Taliban” but aren’t really — even if they themselves don’t know it yet.
“Moderate Islamists.” As if the degrees of Islamic radicalization weren’t hard enough to keep track of, now we’ve got “moderate Islamists” in the mix.
Ace of Spades:
At least the Democrats talk tough about sending more troops to Afghanistan and killing Taliban fighters and capturing bin Ladin.
If that really is no longer a GOP prirority, then I am no longer a member of the GOP.
You stupid jagoffs. You've done just about everything possible to lose this election; it's only the base -- ever hopeful and ever self-deluding -- that's kept you from your goal.
Was governing too much a chore for you? Was it too distracting, taking you away from fundraisers and fucking Congressional pages?
Etc. etc. etc.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 2 October 2006 21:59 (seventeen years ago) link
Frist forgot that you're not trying to surprise your *own* side.
(The interesting dynamic here is that I wouldn't have been surprised at all to see this as a talking point somewhere after the election, but well before 2008. But a few weeks before it?)
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 2 October 2006 23:02 (seventeen years ago) link
Frist's bunch tries
again:
Frist's communications director felt the need to clarify the AP's story.
Here's what Amy Call wrote to reporters this morning:
“While touring Afghanistan, Senator Frist made the observation that Afghan tribesman should be brought into the government or risk losing them to the Taliban. Giving the native tribes often targeted by Taliban recruitment a voice in the government will promote peace and prosperity in the region. Senator Frist does not believe Taliban fighters – often foreign fighters who come to Afghanistan to further conflict – should be brought into the reconciliation process. In order to undermine the influence of the Taliban in Afghan society, Senator Frist believes there needs to be a multi-pronged approach to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. Military efforts must continue in earnest to capture and kill the leadership of the Taliban and al-Qa’ida, who continue to pose a grave threat to Afghanistan and the world.
“The long-term peace and security of Afghanistan depends upon the ability of the government, lead by President Karzai, to establish a political order in which the radical totalitarian ideology of the Taliban is rejected in favor of liberty, democracy, and the rule of law.”
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 16:40 (seventeen years ago) link