Peace in Afghanistan?

The new bishop to the armed forces has created a stir by commending the commmitment of the Taliban to their faith, to their people and their land.  In his words there is the implicit suggestion that their belligerence is far more than terrorism, and that to treat the conflict in terms of being black and white, good and bad, is to misunderstand the causes and to misjudge the solution.

Sadly, I sense this balanced viewpoint will be ignored and soon forgotten by military and political decison-makers.  History will prove it to be right, and just as the Iraq invasion is now being evidenced to have been a truly terrible error of judgment, so, I believe, will the story of the West's involvement inAfghanistan.  However, just as the Northern Ireland conflict was largely resolved through dialogue, compromise and understanding, so there is  the chance that similar moves towards peace can be achieved with the Taliban.  

Let us hope that more people have the courage to speak out, like the bishop.