You Can't Appease Terrorists

Fight them there or fight them here.

Many on the Left seem to think that if we only give terrorists good jobs or hope for the future or try and be their friends through being non-confrontational they will leave us alone.  This is a mistake and the most recent example may be found in Swat, Pakistan where the government made “peace” with the Taliban only to see all hell break loose as they attacked the cricket team, murdered innocents and strengthened themselves for their next objective: the rest of Pakistan:

The pact, covering Swat and the sizeable Malakand region of the North West Frontier Province, granted the state’s acceptance of shariah Islamic law there in return for a ceasefire. Few of the 200,000 people displaced by the Taliban advance are keen to return. Video footage showing the public flogging of a woman suspected of adultery may help explain their reluctance.

The Swat peace deal, rather than halting the Taliban, has emboldened the militants, estimated to number about 15,000 fighters in total. The group “continues to terrorise the local population, carries weapons in public, patrols main roads, operates checkpoints, kidnaps government officials and security forces personnel and attacks security forces convoys in Swat and the Malakand region,” says Maria Kuusisto of Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. Last week the Taliban pushed closer to the capital by seizing the Buner district. The recent attacks in Lahore, the country’s second largest city, have led many residents to believe that the populous and affluent Punjab province is the next battlefront.

Not only is Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan but they also have quite a few nuclear missiles.  If the fight continues the danger is that many of the army rank-and-file, who are Muslims like the Taliban, may decide not to fight:

“The danger to Pakistan is fundamentally that the army has been Islamised over the long term. For them, jihad is the guiding principle,” says one western diplomat. “They have been so closely married to the cause of Islamic militancy that there are questions over their determination to fight. Does a mother ever kill its own child?”

The Taliban are eating Pakistan up.

What happens when you try and “negotiate” with terrorists?  They take advantage of you no matter what your religion, nationality, or political beliefs:

Swat clearly demonstrated its Achilles heel. Some local commentators say the peace deal with the Taliban was irresponsible because it was signed out of weakness after a military defeat.

This willingness to try and reason with these people has infected the Obama administration:

“This matter was also raised in the past,” said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, referring to comments last month by Obama, who spoke of reaching out to moderate Taliban.

“They have to go and find the moderate Taliban, their leader and speak to them. This is a lunatic idea,” Mujahid said by telephone from an unknown location.

These people are committed, they are in it for the long term, and they seek any advantage they can get.  Short of capitulation the only choice is annihilation.

Did you like this article? Get new articles daily for free via RSS or Email.