Sunday, September 1, 2019

Taliban Peace Talks


The current population of Afghanistan is 38,183,426. In 2018 Nominal GDP was $19.6 billion. The Labor Force was 14 million with 44% working in agriculture. Poverty was 55%. Unemployment was 24%. Nominal Per Capita GDP was $543.

There are 178 districts in Afghanistan. 59 districts are under Taliban control. The remaining 119 districts remain contested and controlled by neither the Afghan government nor the rebels as of.6/24/19. The Taliban controls 33% of Afghanistan.

Negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government include making the Taliban an official political party. Allowing hostile forces to remain is usually a bad idea. It has been tried in Israel since 1948.

The Taliban need to be defeated by the Afghan army with some help from their neighbors like Pakistan and Islamic Fundamentalism needs to be outlawed in Afghanistan and offenders need to be jailed or executed for capital murders committed over the past 40 years. I see no alternative to resolve the Afghan problem with the Taliban. The Afghan government will continue to be outspent as long as the Taliban has control over the opium trade.

The Afghan government must seize all opium trade and limit it to medical use for morphine and other hospice-oriented drugs.

I think we need to be tough with the Taliban.  I like the way Bruce Willis negotiated with the Alien Arms Dealers in the movie “The 5th Element”.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader


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