Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

Trump has fired his National Security Advisor, John Bolton. Good riddance. And now he's looking for his 4th National Security Adviser since taking office. There's someone I can recommend: me. I can tell him how he can fix the mess in Afghanistan and get it back heading towards peace and reconciliation. And really it's very simple and staring him in the face. I don't know why he hasn't seen it himself.

First, we have to agree to get out completely. The Taliban is not going to tolerate a residual American force there, to hunt for terrorists or anything else. They want us out. Totally out. We have to end the occupation; completely. All foreign forces have to go. That is non-negotiable to them.  

But, they have already consented to the idea of a gradual pull-out. And, you obviously think longer would be better than shorter, since you wish you could leave troops there permanently. So, make it for as long as you think you can get them to accept. It's probably no more than 18 months. But, they might go for that, and you can live with it. 

They have also agreed to intra-Afghan talks to include all segments of Afghan society. But, they won't include the government. So that means the talks have to revolve around forming a new government from scratch. It can include some of the individuals in the current government. They've already accepted a lot who have flipped. 

So, you let them have their intra-Afghan conference, limited to Afghans. Anyone currently in the Afghan government can go as an individual. But, recognizing that they won't tolerate Ghani, whom they consider a Quisling, you accept that. So, the new government won't include him or Karzai, but you get a commitment that they won't be harmed. No reprisals against them. They can't kill them or harm them. 

The biggest problem is that the Taliban wants an Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, which means a religious government run by Sharia law, whereas the other side wants an Islamic republic, presumably with Constitutional limits on what the government can do. What the resolution of that difference is, I do not know, but it's for them to work out. We shouldn't even suggest anything.

But, it should all hinge on an immediate universal ceasefire. But, if you commit to a total withdrawal, and stop worrying about Afghanistan being used as a staging ground because if it can't be used as a staging ground, then the terrorists will just move to Ubekistan or Turkistan or some other stan. Think, Donald, think: What do fire ants do when you poison their mound? They move. So stop worrying about that. All that is is just an attempt to validate the original reason for starting the war. But, you weren't any part of that decision, so you don't have to validate it. And if you let them have their intra-Afghan conference and start from scratch to form a new government, which hopefully represents and respects all Afghans (a big if, I realize) then you can have peace. At least, you can have peace for a while and hope that it holds through the talks, though I realize there are no guarantees.

But, that's it. That's the best deal you're going to get, Donald. You wrote a book: The Art of the Deal. I haven't read it, and I'll admit: it's not on my Bucket List. But, isn't one element of the art of the deal to recognize the best deal you're going to get?  Well, this is the best deal you're going to get. And isn't it better than endless war?

Take the deal, Donald. It's the right move to make, especially where human lives are concerned.