Talking to the Enemy

A Little Secret:

The US is attempting to plea-bargain with all those nasty Iraqi Insurgents. You know, those terrrists we've pledged to smoke out of their holes; those guys.

American diplomats and army commanders have held indirect talks with insurgents in Iraq, the first officially sanctioned contact between the two sides in two years of violence.

A US embassy official in Baghdad said efforts were under way to "engage" elements of the resistance in an apparent softening of the Bush administration's opposition to negotiations.

"In order to achieve stability and [an] end to the insurgency and stop Iraqis from being killed in large numbers, the insurgency has to be addressed," the official told reporters.

This devious plan actually reeks of responsible action, in a way. The greater good of Iraq is that these native Iraqi Insurgents be folded into a constructive new government, and the external forces purged enough to allow some self-determination in Iraq [which, of course, includes the Americans]. It is, of course, also excellent PR- bring the Insurgents into the government peacefully and it is a PR coup for the swamped and trodden US forces.