Friday, August 31, 2007

SEOUL SURRENDERS

This is a victory for the Taliban in so many ways.

1. They gain the legitimacy of having negotiated directly with a democratic government.

2. Tactics of kidnapping aid workers are incentivised. In case there was any doubt, the Taliban proclaim that "we will do the same thing with other allies in Afghanistan."

3. The South Korean government confirms that they will withdraw their Afghanistan troops by the end of the year; never mind that the kidnapping of aid workers is just about the strongest argument there could be for maintaining a military presence in order to secure development assistance.

4. The Taliban are rumoured to have received a $20 million ransom from the South Korean government. If true, that money will undoubtedly be used to fund future attacks against Canadians and NATO allies, but that's okay for Seoul because their people are getting out.

This is EXACTLY why we don't negotiate with terrorists.

Posted by Matthew @ 9:54 a.m.