Biden’s latest attempt to sound smart

On Monday, COB6 wrote about the absurd plan of the Obama Administration to negotiate with the Taliban. Well, not one to let an opportunity to beclown himself slip by, Joe Biden, the smartest man to ever come out of Scranton makes up his own facts and statistics (The Washington Times);

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said Tuesday that 70 percent of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan are essentially mercenaries who possibly could be negotiated with instead of fought, and said the United States likely will try this approach.

Mr. Biden, in Belgium to discuss Afghanistan with NATO officials in advance of next month’s summit, said that he did not know what kind of concessions Taliban members might be willing to make, and said that the Afghan government would have to initiate and approve of any such talks.

“But I do think it is worth engaging and determining whether or not there are those who are willing to participate in a secure and stable Afghan state,” Mr. Biden said.

It seems to me that just by the simple fact that Joe is calling them “mercenaries” pretty much precludes any chance of negotiation. Mercenaries, by definition, have no loyalties to a government or land beyond the chance for personal enrichment – why would they want to “participate in a secure and stable Afghan state”? And where does he get the 70% number?

Unless the Obama Administration plans on paying off these mercenaries (like Clinton did to the Haitian generals), I don’t see any room for negotiation. And paying off terrorists always seems to work so well, for nations who do that – like Malaysia which has conceded everything to Islamic terrorists and still gets bombs and beheadings nearly every day. Islamic extremists have proved themselves to be such rational actors.

Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Foreign Policy, Terror War, Usual Suspects