Surge In Afghanistan? Don't send in the money!

NATO is ruling out the idea of paying off Taliban members to lay down their arms.

NATO does not intend to bribe Taliban guerrillas to defect to the Afghan government side as a way to end the war, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday, dismissing concerns over the latest plan to end the country's growing insurgency.
Fogh Rasmussen's comments came amid a renewed push to make peace with moderate Taliban insurgents and draw them into the political process. The North Atlantic alliance has strongly backed an Afghan plan to bring the insurgents over to the government's side.
On Wednesday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited Saudi Arabia, hoping the kingdom would help persuade Taliban militants to take part in a negotiated settlement to the war. Saudi Arabia has a unique relationship with the Taliban since it was one of the few countries to recognize its regime in Afghanistan before it was ousted in 2001.
In a post on the alliance's Web site ahead of a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers in Istanbul to open Thursday evening, Fogh Rasmussen said a new $140 million trust fund would offer insurgents an alternative to remaining with the Taliban.
"Much attention is on the new reconciliation and reintegration effort initiated by the Afghan government. Questions were raised if we are bribing the Taliban just to get peace," he said. "I understand why this is a sensitive issue for many."

Now, this doesn't exactly jive with other comments that Rasmussen has made elsewhere.

Paying Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan to lay down their arms is not a bribe but an investment in peace and reconciliation, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday. "I see it as an investment in reconciliation and in the end an investment in peace," he said in a video message ahead of a meeting of the alliance's defence ministers in Istanbul, Turkey.
A 500-million-dollar Peace and Reintegration Trust Fund was launched at an international conference on Afghanistan in London on January 28, with initial pledges of 140 million dollars.
According to Rasmussen, contributions so far have come "from Japan, Germany, Spain and Australia, with more to come."
The Japanese government pledged 50 million dollars; Australia pledged 22 million; Spain 14 million. And according to diplomatic sources, Germany offered 50 million euros (70 million dollars). Britain and the United States are also expected to come up with contributions.
Rasmussen insisted that "many of the insurgents are not in it for religious or ideological reasons" and "are not necessarily ideologically against the Afghan government or the international troops", but "they fight for the Taliban for small amounts of money simply to make a living, or for other grievances."

So if we arrange for them to be hired by a small business (like a bike repair shop or something) that was funded by a NATO-backed microgrant designed to employ the locals, does that constitute paying them off?

By: Brant