Settle the Score

I watched a breathtaking BBC report yesterday of an Afghan soldier named Mohammad who lost all his limbs in a bomb explosion but whose life was saved by the heroic efforts of a female British corporal who was a combat medic and an American helicopter crew that responded quickly enough to save this grievously wounded warrior. The joint patrol of UK and Afghan forces that Mohammad was injured on was searching for a Taliban heavy machine gun which incidentally was never found. The Karzai administration currently attempting to exercise authority in Kabul believes that the Afghan government can negotiate some sort of reconciliation with the Taliban. Certain Western leaders who want to wash their hands of the struggle in Afghanistan are pushing too and hoping for an accord. Yes, now is certainly the time they say to extend the hand of peace. You have to be kidding me- these Afghan Taliban and their Pakistani Pashtun, Sunni brethren blow up Shia mosques on a lark. They are wanton and conscienceless murderers and plunderers of the first magnitude. Not only did they practice cultural vandalism, misogyny as governance, and mayhem as social order, they harbored Osama bin Laden both before but even after the September 11, 2001 outrage and brought the war and any suffering as a result of it on themselves, but now our allies do not wish to bear the cost in material and men and seek some face saving way to throw in the towel. We must honor the sacrifice of the young Afghan soldier Mohammad, now limbless because he chose to stand with righteousness- with us and all the sacrifice of all those who have fallen in the attempt to thwart fundamentalist madness. We must not compromise with al Qaeda or the Taliban but do what is necessary to defeat them.