[b]High-Ranking Taliban Leaders Surrender, Are Set Free By Afghan Interim Gov't:[/b]

[url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,42555,00.html[/url]

"'Those men who have surrendered [b]are our brothers[/b] and we have allowed them to live in a peaceful manner. They will not be handed over to America,' (Jalal Khan, a close associate of Kandahar Gov. Gul Agha) said."

"Marine Lt. James Jarvis...voiced [b]no objection[/b] to the release of the former Taliban officials.

'We're not in the business of determining who should and should not be in custody right now,'"

"Surrender negotiations have frustrated the U.S.-led coalition. Last week, Taliban leader
Mullah Mohammed Omar apparently escaped after reportedly having been surrounded in the mountainous Baghran region north of Kandahar."


[b]WTF??[/b]

This is precisely why there will never be a lasting peace in this region of the world.

Welcome back to the 15th century.

Warlords?
Tribal leaders?
Horseback soccer with a headless calf?

Well, welcome to the United States, where known murderers, rapists, et al., are released from custody based upon such esoteric matters as did the LEOs read the defendant his rights in Spanish? did they exceed the scope of the search warrant? did they lack 'probable cause' to search the person/place/thing from the get-go? did the Court Reporter lose his/her notes of the trial, so an appeal court rules that the defendant is entitled to a new trial, although the original jury convicted him in less than an hour based upon overwhelming evidence?

While I agree that justice must be as perfect as we can reasonable make it, I'm sure that these distinctions would be lost on an Afghan warlord!

We need to take care of business and di-di-mao out of there!

Eric The(Remember,TheAfghansGotToLiveThereAfterWe'reLongGone!)Hun[>]:)]

The Afghans believe that we (the US) will soon be gone.  (And have historical precedent to support that belief.)

The Afghans are hoping to return to their lives as before the Soviet invasion. Today those in power release Muller Fred - not because they like or trust the skanky SOB but because these folks are figuring Muller Fred now owes them one and will call that chit next time they are Muller Fred's captives.  (Which they anticipate will/might happen.)

We are well on our way to winning our second 'proxy' war (or, if you will, 'war by proxy'.  Proxy wars by the very definition require others to die in order to save American lives.

I'll take micro set-backs for macro gains.  I consider saving the lives of American Military and CIA to be macro gains.

There is no news here - just the realities of a late phase in a successful proxy war.

For us to have thought this phase of the war would be different is naive.

[smoke]

Actually, I believe it's a goat!

Like Eric and 5sub have said, the Afghans have to live there long after we have packed up and left.  As long as the people they are releasing are not likely to become a future threat to us, I don't have a big problem with it.  Sometimes, the best way to end civil wars is amnesty.

After the US Civil War ended, Southerners, while of course suffering great hardship, were generally not singled out for prosecution and punishment.  The North probably recognized that it was not practical, and not conducive towards a lasting peace.