Stardate 20011130.1852 (On Screen): Sometimes negotiations work better when no-one is watching very closely. Of course, it was inevitable that a spotlight would be shown on the meeting in Bonn, but I do think that this is a case where press coverage is more harmful than helpful. Cracks are beginning to develop (though I'm not certain they're as important as the press would like us all to believe). One of the problems is the insistence by some parties that there be some sort of international peace-keeping force. I'm not sure that any of the Afghans are insisting on that; maybe that's something that the UN itself is trying to impose on the solution? In any case, President Rabbani now says that if there is to be such a force, it should be limited to 200 men -- which is, of course, completely inadequate. That wouldn't even be enough for one minor city, let alone an entire nation. On the other hand, I'm by no means certain that international peacekeepers are either helpful or desirable in this, considering the allergy that Afghans have now to foreign troops on their soil.
The United States really does have the ability to massively influence these negotiations in a relatively underhanded way: bribery. Oh, not overtly in the form of envelopes shoved across the table, but in the form of offers of assistance. I hope some of our nameless unsung people are in Bonn making promises. And if it actually the Europeans the UN which is insisting on foreign peace-keepers, perhaps they'll get the message and pull back from it? (discuss)
