Rank-and-file Taliban must prove their worth

Are there members of the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist militia bent on returning Afghanistan to the Dark Ages, who can be trusted to fully embrace democratic society?

That question should be the basis of discussions between the United States and its allies of an idea offered this week by a British government official.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged the Afghan government to reconcile with moderate Taliban guerrillas. Miliband, noting the military success of a mission to oust Taliban fighters from an Afghan stronghold, said rank-and-file militiamen should be given the chance “to leave the path of confrontation with government.”

“Essentially, this means a clear route for former insurgents to return to their villages and go back to farming the land, or a role for some of them within the legitimate Afghan security forces,” Miliband said.

“For higher level commanders and their networks, we need to work with the Afghan government to separate the hard-line ideologues, who are essentially irreconcilable and violent, and who must be pursued relentlessly, from those who can be drawn into domestic political processes,” he added.

On Monday, Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, offered peace talks to militants if they renounce violence.

But, how do you separate the good Taliban from the bad?

Ask Pakistan, which is on the front lines in the war on terrorism and is now waging a bloody military campaign against Islamic fundamentalists who want to take over the country. Pakistan’s possession of offensive nuclear weapons makes it a prime target of extremists.

Osama bin Laden

The Taliban and al-Qaida, the world’s leading terrorist organization led by Osama bin Laden, have joined forces in Pakistan and Afghanistan against the U.S. and its allies.

Bin Laden was the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America’s homeland. He has eluded capture or death despite a bounty on his head.

Five months ago, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari invited the Taliban to take control of the Swat Valley region in the Northwest Frontier Province. Sharia, or Islamic law, became the order of the day.

Despite warnings from the Obama administration and others that Zardari would live to regret the appeasement policy, the Pakistanis remained undaunted.

In April, the peace agreement was shredded by the Taliban when militants forcefully took control of a district on the outskirts of the capital, In response, Pakistan’s military launched an aggressive military campaign in the Swat Valley, resulting in 2 million residents fleeing.

The clashes among troops, pro-government militias and Islamist militants have left at least 31 suspected insurgents dead.

On Sunday, Pakistani authorities detained the Islamic cleric who brokered the failed peace deal.

The moral of the story: Beware Taliban bearing gifts of peace.

British Foreign Minister Miliband’s idea of bringing into the fold militiamen willing to play nice should be explored with a jaundiced eye.

The Taliban is still the enemy of the United States and its allies. Suspicion is justified.