Bet Your Life....

Today I saw some interesting news headlines on CNN.com.

The first that caught my eye was the one that read, "Taliban Split With Al Qaeda, Seek Peace". That one should catch anybody's attention. Think about the implications of that statement for a moment. The Taliban, from whom our multi-national forces are coming under attack daily in Afghanistan, and against whom we're counterattacking, have suddenly decided to "divorce" themselves from Al Qaeda. Apparently, the article claims, the Taliban want to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Afghanistan. The Saudis have apparently brokered a meeting, which reportedly took place in late September, between Taliban delegates and Afghan delegates to kick-start what is expected to be a very long series of peace talks. This would be a HUGE shift in the way things are going in that region.

However, knowing the Taliban as I do, I'm trying to figure out the angle here. Supposedly, the fugitive Mullah Mohammed Omar (the clerical figurehead of the Taliban, and one of the USA's most sought-after terrorists), has apparently decided to suddenly distance himself from Al Qaeda. Even the notorious Afghan warlord Gulbadin Hekmatyar, known for shifting his allegiance to whichever way the wind blows, had a representative at the talks, along with a few other relevant but unnamed parties.

My interpretation on this development is this: it's a ploy. I suspect the Taliban and/or Al Qaeda are trying to get their people close to the Saudi monarchy for the purposes of assassination. Al Qaeda has always wanted to eliminate the Saudi monarchy -- they've made no secret of that. A few "good-will" talks up front would allow Taliban representatives to get into the "inner circle" with the Saudis and feel out their security measures, and when they've assessed the weaknesses, a proper assassination can be mounted. The Taliban have used this tactic before in the days just prior to September 11th. The leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, Ahmad Shah Massoud, known as the "Lion of Panjshir", was assassinated by a couple of Al Qaeda agents posing as press. They began conducting a mock interview, and the cameraman had stowed massive explosives inside his "battery belt". When they successfully established trust with Massoud and his security people, and began conducting their "interview", the bomb went off and killed several people there, including Massoud and the bomber. A similar tactic could be underway here. If I were the Saudis, I'd be making damn sure that any Taliban delegates are thoroughly screened by keen security people. This screams of a plot to me.

I hate more than anything to be a pessimist and a naysayer, but I do consider myself a realist. Believe me, nobody would be happier than me to see the bloodshed end in Afghanistan and peace take hold. But let's just say that the Taliban isn't known for its honesty or good intentions. Any offer of "peace" from the Taliban should be taken with a grain of salt, heck, a MOUND of salt, in my opinion. I'll be watching this development to see what comes of it. I smell a rat. An offer of peace from the Taliban is like an offer of tasty treats to a mouse from a professional exterminator.

The other headline that caught my interest had to do with the disputed region of Kashmir, which lies between Pakistan and India. This region has been claimed by both Pakistan and India, and several wars have been fought between the two nations over the territory. Tensions have been high in this area for a long time, if you've followed your recent history. Here's the latest. It would appear that some land had been set aside for a Hindu shrine to be constructed. A massive Muslim demonstration soon followed, because as we've seen historically time and time again, Muslims can't seem to tolerate or get along with anybody. The closest thing to "government" in the region apparently caved to the pressure from the Muslim demonstrators, and rescinded the offer to allow the Hindus to construct their shrine. Then, the Hindus responded with demonstrations of their own, and all kinds of violence soon followed when violent Muslims butted heads with the Hindus. Indian security forces have had to move in and impose curfews to keep demonstrators and/or separatists from killing one another.

You'll note that the whole reason for this particular uptick of violence is once again on the shoulders of Muslims, the most intolerant and violent of the religions. They demand their way on everything, and give no quarter to anyone that is not a Muslim. This is my recurring gripe with their "faith". It's completely intolerant of any other faith or any other point of view, and it is intolerant to the point of violence. If Muslims are so into peace and tolerance, how come we never see that in practice?

Extremism like this must be stamped out, or we're all in for a rude awakening. Peacemongers can oppose warfare all they want, but a wise person once said, "Let him who desires peace prepare for war." Freedom isn't free. We westerners can extend all the peace offers we want to the Muslim world, but until I see something on their end to indicate they'd be willing to reciprocate, I'd just as soon kill them. In terms of co-existence with Muslims, all indications I see in the news every day point to the fact that THEY WON'T HAVE IT. I say kill 'em all, and let God sort 'em out. Their inexplicable desire to kill me (and you) means that their lives are forfeit. If we can eradicate the extremists, maybe the Muslims left standing can attempt to show us their supposedly peaceful and tolerant religion. I'd be willing to bet that there won't be any of them left standing, since I feel they're all inclined to band together in their mission to wipe US all out. In my mind, moderates in Islam are only a nudge away from extremists. I truly hope I'm wrong on that. But I'm not willing to bet my life on it. Are you?