WI Taliban cooperated

NapoleonXIV

Banned
In the wake of 9/11 the Taliban was one of the many governments that sent its sympathies

However, when asked to turn over Osama, et al, it balked, asking that they be guaranteed trial in Islamic courts and so its doom was sealed.

But WI they cooperated? WI they had offered to let in any and everyone the US specified and promised every help and aid they could in capturing Osama? How would the US balance the niceties of International law with the demands of the American populace and even much of the rest of the world for an end to a group already seen as a pariah.
 
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Grey Wolf

Gone Fishin'
Donor
NapoleonXIV said:
In the wake of 9/11 the Taliban was one of the many governments that sent its sympathies

However, when asked to turn over Osama, et al, it balked, asking that they be guaranteed trial in Islamic courts and so its doom was sealed.

But WI they cooperated? WI they had offered to let in any and everyone the US specified and promised every help and aid they could in capturing Osama? How would the US balance the niceties of International law with the demands of the American populace and even much of the rest of the world for an end to a group already seen as a pariah.

It would bomb them, call the promised co-operation a ruse and launch its war on schedule

Grey Wolf
 
US reaction

I think that they would have to be VERY quick and decisive in their reaction to have any cahnce of surviving in any form. The American people wanted someone to pay, and instantly. (This is a nation that is overly focussed on instant gratification, IMHO)
If the Taliban handed Bin Laden and most of his top advisors over, all gift wrapped, along with a large group of Al Queda (sp?) fighters, and invited the US to send in all the troops it needed to search, they might survive. They would probably have to do this BEFORE the US identified Afganistan as currently providing shelter to the enemy. They would probably also have to agree to peace talks with the other side in their civil war, making the hunt for Bin-Laden a joint effort.
When the dust settled, they would be hardly recognizable as what they were--and would have no cahnce to undo it all, with American forces everywhere.
Very extreme, but IMVHO, the only cahnce they would have to avoid American invasion. Depending on just what else is happening, it may still be called a ruse, and be overthrown.
 
Be careful wnat you ask for you might just get it

If the Taliban regime had seriously cooperated with the US to the extent that is suggested by Nappy XIV, It would have been hard for the US not to accept. In this scenario, they are essentially ceding their national sovereignity to the US by presumably allowing US military forces full and unconditional access to their country (and giving up OBL for starters). Thus, the US would be essentially occupying Afghanistan anyway. I don't doubt that, given US public sentiment at the time - which certainly was demanding that a lot of people someplace had better get killed - the Bush Administration would look for every way imaginable to find the Taliban backing out on their agreements and then come in with both fists. A side issue, though, is that possibly the best and most humanitarian thing to have come out of the War on Terrorism is the overthrow of the Taliban. The moral unambiguity of the Afghanistan war might soon be tarnished if the US ended up propping up their a new set misogynous 12th century friends just to get OBL & co. instead of freeing the country from their yoke.
 

Grey Wolf

Gone Fishin'
Donor
zoomar said:
If the Taliban regime had seriously cooperated with the US to the extent that is suggested by Nappy XIV, It would have been hard for the US not to accept. In this scenario, they are essentially ceding their national sovereignity to the US by presumably allowing US military forces full and unconditional access to their country (and giving up OBL for starters). Thus, the US would be essentially occupying Afghanistan anyway. I don't doubt that, given US public sentiment at the time - which certainly was demanding that a lot of people someplace had better get killed - the Bush Administration would look for every way imaginable to find the Taliban backing out on their agreements and then come in with both fists. A side issue, though, is that possibly the best and most humanitarian thing to have come out of the War on Terrorism is the overthrow of the Taliban. The moral unambiguity of the Afghanistan war might soon be tarnished if the US ended up propping up their a new set misogynous 12th century friends just to get OBL & co. instead of freeing the country from their yoke.

True, Hamid Karzai was a good choice, a decent man and a monarchist :) Having to throw their lot in with Dostum though would undermine the positives if anyone still paid enough attention or cared particuarly. It will be interesting to see how Afghanistan develops - the Loya Jirga agreement on a constitution is a good sign. It remains to be seen how people like Dostum react to it being put into practical effect, though ?

Grey Wolf
 
True, Grey Wolf, Afghanistan is still very much a work in progress...one more reason not to be sidetracked in Iraq IMHO.
 
zoomar said:
True, Grey Wolf, Afghanistan is still very much a work in progress...one more reason not to be sidetracked in Iraq IMHO.

Hopefully it will all turn out for the best, including the new moon and Mars programs. (cautiously optimistic...)
 
Hmm... I don't agree. If the Taliban had quickly grabbed OBL, his top people, and every AQ guy they could get their hands on, and handed them all over to us, the US would have been damn happy with them. I don't see that happening though. More likely is that the Taliban would agree in principle to the idea, but dawdle on arresting everyone. THey would 'fail' to get ahold of OBL and the top AQ men, and would hand over only a bunch of low level AQ grunts. Then comes the invasion anyway....
 
David Howery said:
Hmm... I don't agree. If the Taliban had quickly grabbed OBL, his top people, and every AQ guy they could get their hands on, and handed them all over to us, the US would have been damn happy with them. I don't see that happening though. More likely is that the Taliban would agree in principle to the idea, but dawdle on arresting everyone. THey would 'fail' to get ahold of OBL and the top AQ men, and would hand over only a bunch of low level AQ grunts. Then comes the invasion anyway....


Quite likely because if there weren't political pressure inside (Particularly large parts of the Taliban government itself) the country they simply would have handed Bin Laden over.
 

Raymann

Banned
I wouldn't matter if they gave us bin laden's head on a silver platter, they had helped him and his organization and they had to pay for it. Selling out one of their own would just show how ruthless they are and would give us even more of a reason to bomb the sh** out of them.
 
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