Stardate 20011206.1041 (On Screen): It appears to be confirmed: the Taliban are surrendering. Omar made a deal and sold out his troops to save his own ass. He will be afforded "tribal protection", whatever that means. The US has previously said in no uncertain terms that amnesty to top al Qaeda figures was not acceptable, and I think also that amnesty for top Taliban figures would not be permitted. But if indeed Omar did sell out his own, any chance he might have of being politically important later will be nil -- who would trust him again? The best answer might well be to let him have his internal exile, and then to have a sniper pick him off some time. I doubt anyone will mourn. But I don't know if that's what the US government will actually do. We are, after all, a co-belligerent here. On the other hand, we do have men attached to the friendly headquarters in the Kandahar area, and it's hard to see how a deal like this could be made without US assent. (After all, the Pashtun friendlies have no way to stop the bombing.) So I suspect the US may be viewing this as another Hirohito, a small price to pay to win the war. Ultimately the top Taliban leaders were not really the target for the US, and the remaining al Qaeda forces holed up at Tora Bora will get no such deal.
(discuss)Update: Apparently Omar doesn't get to be this war's Hirohito.
