Serious row kicking off here

[Swiss Tony]

Italians bribed the Taleban all over Afghanistan, say officials

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6877142.ece

I’m surprised not many other sites are carrying this story, what do we all make of it?

[dang65]

So they basically worked out a nice clean way to stop the violence and live in peace, but that is considered to be completely unacceptable by Times readers. Better to just carry on maiming and murdering each other, presumably.

[sasguru]

So they basically worked out a nice clean way to stop the violence and live in peace, but that is considered to be completely unacceptable by Times readers. Better to just carry on maiming and murdering each other, presumably.

I generally don't subscribe to the prevailing mindless right-wing ethos on this forum, and so usually I have time for the lefties alternative point of view, when there is intellectual justification.
But now you're just being stupid.

[AtW]

So they basically worked out a nice clean way to stop the violence and live in peace

Only in their own sector: the money were used to attack "allies" of the Italians in other sectors. At some point Taleban would have come after the Italians as well.

[swamp]

Fair play to the Italians. We should be paying the Taliban in Helmand to stop planting IEDs, especially as we can't stomach a few hundred dead soldiers when we go to 'war'.

Anyway, the Americans did this in Iraq.

[AtW]

Fair play to the Italians. We should be paying the Taliban in Helmand to stop planting IEDs, especially as we can't stomach a few hundred dead soldiers when we go to 'war'.

What do you think Taleban will be doing with the money, buy Rolls-Royces? They take money and reinvest into their cause - even if they took money from Britain, it would be very temporary.

Anyway, the Americans did this in Iraq.

They paid ex-Saddam people to fight Al Quaeda there, not paid Al Quaeda to go kill some other infidels.

[dang65]

Well, maybe we could bribe them with iPhones and big tellies instead then. The scheme could be called "Tellies For The Talies".

[DodgyAgent]

I generally don't subscribe to the prevailing mindless right-wing ethos on this forum, and so usually I have time for the lefties alternative point of view, when there is intellectual justification.
But now you're just being stupid.

as always

[swamp]

Well, maybe we could bribe them with iPhones and big tellies instead then. The scheme could be called "Tellies For The Talies".

Or "Vans for the 'Stan".

[Clippy]

Italians bribed the Taleban all over Afghanistan, say officials

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6877142.ece

I’m surprised not many other sites are carrying this story, what do we all make of it?

The Beeb have it here.

I remember watching a BBC documentary a few years ago which showed US forces paying Afghan warlords millions of dollars to leave their troops alone.

The documentary actually showed the money being 'checked out' by a member of the military and placed in extremely large gym type bags and loaded onto helicopters and then flown to the warlords' compounds for distribution.

Must have been part of the 'hearts, minds & wallets' strategy to win the 'war'.