Too much news is good news for Mullah Omar

Is there such thing as too much news? It seems that if there are enough distractions, like a bankrupt Detroit ^[1] or a royal baby ^[2], people will forget or grow bored of other issues in our world that are more serious and still unresolved.

Monday it was reported that our favorite neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman, pulled a family of four from their mangled car wreck ^[3]. I wonder if the family is black. Maybe that would quell some of the death threats he gets. And this past weekend, emotionally charged protesters all over America marched to oppose the acquittal of George Zimmerman, racism in America, and the “stand your ground” law in Florida. It’s funny, because there were no complaints of injustice during the trial, and no significant discontent for racial inequality in America before the trial. What’s funnier, or maybe sadder, is that the “stand your ground” law had almost nothing to do with this case. But this egregiousness is for another blog.

Elsewhere in the news, Edward Snowden is still in a Russian airport ^[4] with top secret NSA information, compromising national security, and challenging already precarious U.S.-Russian relations. On Capital Hill, the dynamics of the IRS scandal become even more complex, as we find out that the IRS failed to release documents that could have helped their case. In Syria, after 2 years of brutal civil war, the U.S. is finally preparing to send in Special Forces ^[5] to secure chemical weapons that have been used against the civilian population by President Bashar Assad. And in Benghazi, the terrorists who attacked the U.S. Consulate on September 11 of last year walk the streets free ^[6], while our Justice Department wastes more time investigating an exonerated George Zimmerman ^[7] than they are the band of men who killed four Americans and the U.S. Ambassador.

However, there has been troubling news related to Afghanistan reported over the past few months, which is going virtually ignored. Last month, the Taliban chopped off the heads of two young boys ^[8], and just last week they mercilessly attacked and killed Afghan civilians ^[9] who were on their way to work. In addition, American soldiers continue to sacrifice their lives in Afghanistan without much coverage or recognition from the news media or Commander In Chief.

Many people don’t realize that within the last few months the United States has been negotiating with the Taliban ^[10] and, indirectly, with Mullah Omar. The same Taliban that has been terrorizing Afghan citizens and U.S. security forces for years. The same Mullah Omar ^[11] who is second on the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice List. The same Mullah Omar who was Osama Bin Laden’s greatest facilitator. And the same Mullah Omar who just last month promised to “retake Kabul” ^[12] as soon as the Americans pull out.

When I read of Omar’s promise the first time, I thought to myself, “Wow, this guy is still alive?” Then I thought, “Wow, we’re really going to negotiate with him?” Has the United States fallen this far? Mullah Omar was the founder and head of the Taliban, a regime that murdered political rivals, suppressed women, and did business with Al Qaeda. Without Omar’s personal concessions to Bin Laden, though reluctant at times, Bin Laden would never have been able to continue his attacks on America from Afghanistan after the first embassy bombing in 1998.

So much was made ^[13] about the killing of Osama Bin Laden, as sending a message to the world that those who attack America cannot get away with it. But what kind of message does it send to the world when those who facilitate attacks on America can return to power? People have war fatigue with Afghanistan, and it is understandable that the news relating to that conflict has been pushed to the back page. But shouldn’t negotiations, even though they are indirect and nebulous, with the second highest bounty target in America, raise some eyebrows, if not public dissent. In today’s news cycle, I guess not. That seems like good news for the Taliban, and even better news for Mullah Omar.