FSM Reader Extra: Top Takes on National Security - Is negotiating with an Islamist entity a good idea?

Alex Alexiev

So President Obama wants to reach out to "moderates" in the Taliban.Let's imagine for a moment that such exotic specimens actually existed and that we were able to find them and make a deal with them. What might they want from us in return for a cease fire? What they'd want is exactly what they recently got in Swat, a federal territory, where the Pakistani government recognized Taliban control of the territory and their right to impose shariah. In other words, Islamabad allowed them to accomplish what they had not been able to achieve by force of arms. Put another way, Islamabad implicitly sanctioned the Taliban's right to burn girls' schools on its sovereign territory.
But why be cynical? Surely somebody as well-intentioned as Mr. Obama should be able to find some moderate fanatics even among the Taliban - as long as he continues to speak softly and carries no stick.

- Alex Alexiev is an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute Washington, D.C.

Comment: To suggest that there are Moderates in the Taliban is, at best, naive. Either Mr. Obama truly believes this statement or he is playing "western politics" with a group of politically savvy non-Western individuals. For the sake of our country I do hope Mr. Obama is playing political games at this moment. If he does not understand that our enemy has an entirely different set of human values than we have in the West, I fear for the strategies he will develop to engage said Taliban. Mr. Obama's mo is too create lists of things to accomplish-move with velocity to check them off-this inherent need to move quickly has been reinforced within him particularly during the run up to the election and certainly up to this moment in time. He has received accolades from psychologically important people to him regarding the "amazing number of accomplishments" so far in the first 50 days. Mr. Obama thrives upon this reinforcement and it directs his ongoing behavior. Our enemies understand this and are now taking advantage of this behavior weakness. Mr. Obama, you are not in Kansas any more-take a step back, sit down and do not appear so eager-our enemy sees this as weakness.