Negotiation efforts of the Administration

By Jim Killebrew

[February 04, 2015]  Once again we have learned of the radicalized Islamic terrorists ending their attempts to negotiate the release of one of their own terrorists for the Jordanian pilot, Moaz al-Kassasbeh. The negotiation ended in a video that depicted the pilot in a cage doused in gasoline and brutally murdered by ISIS as they burned him alive. Afterwards, they buried the body and the cage with a bulldozer, and of course, claimed victory for their cowardly actions. Negotiating with terrorists has never been a profitable venture. We have to wake up and realize that negotiating with the likes of ISIS or any other radical terrorist is never an appropriate thing to do since they have no honor or credibility, well, because they are evil terrorists.

There is a basic characteristic of the "good guys" that is diametrically different from the "bad guys." We have grown up in America being told we are the "good guys" and we have acted like it most of the time. Even the old western movies had the guy in the white hat wait for the guy in the black hat to draw first. Once the attack has been initiated by the "bad guys" it is okay for the "good guys" to retaliate and protect their home. We have called it "self-defense" believing we have a "right" to protect ourselves against the atrocities of the terrorist, whether it be one who terrorizes our personal home and family, or one who terrorizes our society and way of life.

That basic premise of "doing the right thing" for the "good of all the people" on which societies of peace must be built seems to be missing in the makeup of the radicalized, Islamic terrorist. They have returned to barbaric practices of crucifixion, beheading innocent people, random and intentional raping, shooting people by firing squad in front of families, killing children, and of course, this most recent atrocity, burning a human being alive. It is important to realize when a personality is missing the most basic understanding of the value of human life, that person has lost the ability to relate to another human being in a way that fosters trust and credibility. That is the reason why it is impossible to negotiate with a person or persons who have literally sold their soul to the devil as they practice such horrific, heinous behaviors as killing for the sake of killing.

The realization of the futility of negotiation with such people can be clearly seen in the long-term tradition of non-negotiation with terrorist groups having been broken by the President and his Administration by negotiating with the Taliban to release five high-ranking members in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in May of 2014. The detainees in Guantanamo Bay were released in exchange for Sgt. Bergdahl even though his military commanders and the men who served with him knew that he had left his weapons behind, and deserted his post to leave his unit to search for members of the Taliban. Those closest to him knew he was a traitor to his country. Even though the President was seeking to honor a campaign promise to close Guantanamo Bay, it was the wrong thing to do to negotiate with the Taliban to release those five terrorists back to an almost sure reality of their returning to their past positions of killing Americans.

After an investigation into the Sgt. Bergdahl, we have learned the military has handed down to his attorney a list of charges against him that may ultimately end in a court martial. The United States army must now decide what and when they are going to do in regard to the court proceedings amid the political pressure of the White House to consider the political fall-out of such actions. Meantime, the U.S. military and the intelligence community have now released information regarding suspected Taliban associates in Afghanistan of attempting to return to the terrorist military to resume his terrorist activities against Americans and other Western cultures.

Once again, there is questionable decisions regarding an Administration led by the President that may directly lead to harm coming to Americans. These men who were released were known to be dangerous and likely would return to the positions from whence they came in the Taliban structure of terror. It has been reported that one of the five men was "directly associated" with Osama bin Laden. Another was reportedly a commander of a fighting force fighting against the United States Northern Alliance in 2001. Another of the five men was a senior official in the Taliban intelligence service. The other man, of the five released, was the head of the Taliban's communications effort; that one was also a key player in helping al Qaeda terrorists escape into Pakistan.

When the President opened the door to negotiations with the radicalized Islamic terrorists he has emboldened them to continue with their tactics of taking prisoners, parading them in public, demanding some sort of release of their own comrades being held in other parts of the world, or demanding huge sums of money to continue to support their cause. The President has proven he will negotiate with the terrorists, oftentimes disregarding the advice of his high-command military advisors. It seems this kind of action goes beyond simply "leading from behind," it looks an awful lot like aiding and abetting the enemy. But wait a minute, the President does not seem to recognize the radicalized, Islamic terrorists as the enemy. So in his mind, it seems like negotiation, for him, is the best course of action. If this is simply a lack of understanding on the part of the President because he has never served in the military, it might be time for someone with more experience to speak to power in that Administration. If not, we are in for a ride of our lives as we watch over the next couple of years learning of the advances our enemies are making through the Administration's negotiations. Don't forget the on-going negotiations taking place with Iran and Cuba.

[By JIM KILLEBREW]