Split the Baby

In trying to nuance the situation in Afghanistan, Barack Hussein Obama is not being solomonic, just cowardly. Instead of confronting Islamism in all its dreadful forms, Obama is seeking an accommodation with at least some elements of the Taliban to avoid having to deploy more troops to that theater. Obama is separating the Taliban Afghan nationalists from the al Qaeda terrorists who staged 9/11 and are purportedly trans-national and representing many nations. This is hogwash. The Taliban are Wahhab misogynist murdering madmen, largely indistinct in their hatreds and intentions from al Qaeda. The Taliban were willing hosts to Osama bin Laden because they are kindred spirits whose objective is the annihilation of infidels. While their aim is more local, the Taliban did not quibble today in a suicide car bomb attempt to blow up the Indian embassy in Kabul. And there is a broader jihadist ethos beyond these Sunni Wahhab that is still part of the same struggle as the distinct but deadly Shia extremists must be combatted whether in Iraq or Iran as that nation seeks to initiate nuclear domination. The Obama administration seeks to show us all the gray area to hide their cowardice, lack of commitment to the mission, and sell out of the troops on the ground who are being deprived the ability to win and sadly increasingly to even survive. The war was never merely against bin Laden but against aggressive Islamic expansionism that seeks to turn the world back to the seventh century. Obama's cleverness will result in perpetual war with Americans living under the constant threat of terror until an American leader who actually wants to win is installed. There is no half-measure substitute for victory.