Protecting America is the first and most urgent duty of the president. When there's a crisis and that phone rings at 3:00 a.m. in the White House, there's no time for speeches or on-the-job training. You have to be ready to make a decision.--- Hillary Clinton, March, 2008Like a badly written movie plot, the New York Times breaks the story that Aghan leaders have supposedly been in talks with the Taliban to negotiate peace and end the war, only after several meetings and handing the supposed Taliban leader a "sizable sum" of money, it was discovered that the Taliban leader in question, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, was an impostor.
But now, it turns out, Mr. Mansour was apparently not Mr. Mansour at all. In an episode that could have been lifted from a spy novel, United States and Afghan officials now say the Afghan man was an impostor, and high-level discussions conducted with the assistance of NATO appear to have achieved little.
“It’s not him,” said a Western diplomat in Kabul intimately involved in the discussions. “And we gave him a lot of money.”
American officials confirmed Monday that they had given up hope that the Afghan was Mr. Mansour, or even a member of the Taliban leadership.
Of course U.S. officials now claim they were "skeptical" form the start but that didn't stop them from handing the impostor money, nor continuing to negotiate with the fake Mansour.
Read the whole two page report yourself.
We should also not be basing our war strategy on talks with terrorists, whether it is U.S. officials at the negotiating table or Afghan officials.
There is a reason that U.S. policy has always been "we do not negotiate with terrorists" and news today, this news as well as the news that North Korea opened fire on South Korea, are perfect examples of why cuddling up with terrorist states is a bad idea.
As Jim Geraghty points out, snark included, "I can’t believe the president’s personal letter to Kim Jong Il didn’t work."
How did Obama's letter to Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad work out for him?
Did Obama's letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei work out any better than the other two?
FLASHBACK, via Video below
The questions that need to be asked in relation to the fake Taliban leader are many and varied, but number one should be, who the hell authorized negotiations with Mansour to begin with, especially if they are telling the truth and were "skeptical" about his claims the whole time?
Where has the Obama's policy of open communication with terrorist countries gotten America?
IRAN:
"Iran to produce nuclear fuel for Tehran reactor in September 2011"
"Iran reaps benefits of US-led sanctions"
"Iran strategy in nuclear talks: Stand its ground"
NORTH KOREA:
"North Korea close to new nuclear test explosion"
"Scientist: North Korea Secretly Built New Nuclear Facility"
"Negotiating with North Korea a serious diplomatic challenge"
AFGHANISTAN:
"Taliban Leader in Secret Talks Was an Impostor"
"Negotiator for Taliban was an impostor, Afghan officials say"
"Taliban Leader in Peace Talks Was Impostor"
Is it any wonder 69 percent of Americans think our country is on the wrong track and that Barack Obama's approval numbers continue to plummet, according to Zogby, he has yet again, hit new lows.
President Barack Obama's job approval rating has dropped to the lowest point of his Presidency at 39%, and in potential match-ups with Republicans in 2012, he trails Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and Newt Gingrich and is just one point ahead of Sarah Palin.
The level of incompetence the Obama administration has shown is simply astounding and the whole world is watching him flail.
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