Money? Why didn't we think of that?

The United States and a coalition of allied nations have been fighting a war against the Taliban in Afghanistan since September, 2001. The Afghan war was the primary battle in the war on terror until the invasion of Iraq. With a drawn down of forces underway in Iraq, the focus has returned to Afghanistan.

Yesterday in London, delegates from 70 nations met to discuss ways to end the war. A proposal being discussed is to reconcile with members of the Taliban who have not fought with Al Qaeda or other foreign terrorists.

The policy, being called reintegration by those promoting the plan, hinges on the creation of an International Trust Fund to help finance a buyout aimed at rank-and-file and some low-level Taliban commanders.

The fund was announced by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who calls this winter a decisive moment in the war. The new Taliban fund provides "an economic alternative to those who have none," according to Brown.

Those that do not accept reintegration by spring, when a "peace jirga" will be held to ratify the policy, will be pursued militarily.

American envoy Richard Holbrooke, who supports the new policy, commented that the "overwhelming majority" of the Taliban are not supporters of Mullah Omar and Al Qaeda. Holbrooke bases this claim on interviews with prisoners, returnees and other experts that 70 percent of those fighting are not fighting for anything to do with Al Qaeda.

A study of Afghan history shows that the tribal factions in the nation do not like interference from outsiders. Alexander the Great made peace in Afghanistan by marrying the daughter of the strongest chieftain and leaving half of his standing army in the nation. Britain and the Soviet Union both failed in their attempts to make the nation part of their empires.

A candidate for the Afghan parliament was quoted in a news report that the Taliban "are not fighting for money, but for power. They want to depose the Afghan government, and to expel foreign troops."

So, will buying them off give us peace, or give them a way to arm themselves with our money?

Can we buy peace and an end to harboring terrorists?