Under the Table Deals With the Taliban

As the war on terrorism and now the Taliban continues to unfold, many believed that the picture that was being painted would begin to clear up as we moved forward, however it has only gotten hazier. Trying to decode or understand what is actually taking play within the walls of the war is like trying to decode a 1 year-olds scribbling. With this in mind, governments and officials are trying to understand or comprehend the recent accusations against the Italian's, which has been reported to have paid tens of thousands of dollars to Taliban commanders and war lords to keep a specific area within Afghanistan controlled by the Italian safe.

What is most concerning or peculiar about this whole situation is not the fact that they are essentially paying off Taliban hierarchy, but that they are "forgetting" to share this important information with its allies and brothers in arms. Despite the fact that this may seem of little importance at this juncture in the war it is actually quite vital and pivotal considering that the hiding of this information led the French military to suffer the single greatest loss at one time during the war in Afghanistan.

In 2008, French troops where ambushed when they entered into what they believed to be a "safezone". The attack led to the death of 10 French troops and the injury of an additional 21 others. What the French government didn't expect after the attack was the 'extreme' criticism and scrutiny the French government was placed under by its citizens. The French people were outraged at the deaths because they were repeatedly told that the mission that led to the ambush was very well orchistrated and strategically planned out.

However, now that these events have clearly been divulged it poses a potentially threatening question to all the countries, governments and soldiers involved; can we trust one another? The Italian government has responded to the allegations of paying of Taliban commanders and warlords with strong words such as 'completely groundless' or even 'rubbish', however can we honestly expect them to admit to this guilt and potentially escalate tensions between allied nations. Its important that all who are involved in this war keep no such secrets of any kind from one another or we will only continue to increase the unnecessary bloodshed in Afghanistan.