Taliban, US Allies Against Terrorism

Senator Feingold (D-WI) has announced Sunday that he is working with other legislators to block an increase in the troop levels in Afghanistan. This type of comment and the failure to provide a real solution to accompany it would be far from new by now; however the Senator did venture into unchartered water when he justified his movement:

“The idea that the Taliban is going to see it as in their interest to have the world headquarters of Al Qaeda back in Afghanistan, I think is dubious”

This is an interesting statement made by Russ Feingold for a few reasons.

1. It implies that he believes Afghanistan, a country that has been in chaos since the Soviet-Afghan War broke out 30 years ago, will be kept safe in the hands of the Taliban.
2. It implies that Afghanistan, the opium capital of the world, will not revert to a terrorist safe haven once again thanks to the Taliban.  
3. It implies that Afghanistan, a country which was under Taliban control until US led forces removed them, will not become problematic once the US vacates because the Taliban will 'Hold Down the Fort' presumably.

Of all the possible ways to rationalize this argument, Feingold chooses the Taliban defense... SERIOUSLY?

For anyone that may not remember, a brief history of the Taliban can be found HERE @ MS Encarta or watch this Meet the Taliban Exclusive.

In all fairness to the Wisconsin Senator, there has been some reform within the Taliban community. This past summer The Taliban released a new code of conduct which includes rules on Jihad and specifies when a Suicide Bombing is considered appropriate:

More shocking is that Senator Feingold seems to have forgotten that the Taliban are the radical group which has been threatening to take control of Pakistan, one of the 9 countries in the 'nuclear-club'. Does he believe that this would be acceptable because then the Taliban can use the nukes they steal to defend themselves from Al Qaeda?


See US Concerned Taliban Will Snatch Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons

See also POLITICO: Feingold working to block Afghanistan troop increase - POLITICO Live - Feingold working to block Afghanistan troop increase