Secretary Clinton’s apology for the Afghan civilian casualties was profuse and heartfelt, which is good. And her commitment to additional measures of addressing the conflict beyond the military one is welcome. But the standard alternatives, as usual, are about economic development and are rather long-term. There are other interventions afoot, however, that could have a more dramatic effect if the United States pursued them. This may have to challenge a tendency in the United States and Israel to always find a bad guy, even as you are engaging in nonviolent alternatives. In this case the ‘bad guys’ are the Taliban, who have a horrible human rights record. But evidence from the ground from our colleagues in the field, which I cannot share at this point, suggests that there are significant numbers of Taliban, young and old, who are trying to pull away from the extremist leadership who have no regrets over what they did to Afghanistan. Many of these Taliban have no choice but to fight the Americans, but they are looking for a way out. They are being hunted by both the Taliban leadership and by the Americans. This is a lost opportunity to weaken the extremists and simultaneously demonstrate a deep engagement and negotiation with the complexities of Islamic identity in Central Asia. State, Defense, and the Intelligence agencies should make every effort to investigate these fissures in the Taliban, and offer a way out for those who want come in from the cold.
© Marc Gopin
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