Jesse Jackson in Afghanistan?

[vania]

Sooo. What do you think about this?

http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/27/ret...son/index.html

Personally, I agree with Bush's "rating." NOT HELPFUL.!

vania

[erik_kosberg]

I really doubt that he’d have any luck at all negotiating a peace deal (it’s not as if he’d have any authority to speak for the American government), but as the last paragraph of the story suggests, he might have some luck with the aid workers. If I had a family member being held by the Taliban right now, I’d sure as heck be doing whatever I could to help secure their release.

[sylvanb]

Another NH here. I used to be an admirer of Jackson, but he seems to have gotten an awfully inflated view of himself.

Maybe if he went there and then just stayed?

[vania]

I'm just trying to figure out why the Taliban actually invited him?

Are they really falling apart from the inside (as another thread addressed) and using this as a desperate measure?

OR.. do they have something up their sleeve???

vania

[poseidon]

Is this the same Taliban that is arresting and executing Christians simply for the fact that they're not Muslim?

Let Jesse go. They can jail him and keep him. He can't race-bait and extort money from there.

[emeleel]

My hubby suggested that people like this invite Jackson to come talk when they want to make themselves look good ("Hey, look at us, we're talking this out!") but at the same time, want to throw a slap in the face of the actual government. I'm betting he's not far off.

I had a very naughty, bad moment today when Andrea Mitchell was talking about one of the many reasons why the Bush administration doesn't want him to go - what if he goes and all of a sudden, the Intelligence people get a solid lead on Bin Laden? Do we attack while Jackson is still sitting over there "talking" to these people? My first reaction was "You bet we do!" I know, shame on me.

[frazzledspice]

If we had to send someone, I'd rather send former President Jimmy Carter.

- He negotiated a peace treaty in the Middle East in the late 1970's.

- He is so good and pure of heart that he might give the Taliban a new respect for Christianity and its followers. Could an America which had been led by someone with the moral caliber of Jimmy Carter be as morally bankrupt as they believe?

- Selfishly, I'd hate for him to risk his life and go there (although I'm sure he would, if he felt he could be of help.) When, like Diogenes, I go searching for an honest man in politics, I can always look to Plains, Georgia (or wherever Habitat for Humanity homes are being built) and find him.

(Yes, this is a little tongue in cheek, but heartfelt nevertheless.)

[poseidon]

My understanding is that radical Sunniism (and I could be in error) believes that anyone who isn't a Muslim is about as valuable as a cockroach. So, if that assertion is true, then it's doubtful that the Taliban would respect Carter or Christianity.

IMHO the Taliban are game playing... and so is Jackson. From everything I've heard, the Taliban have been as shocked at Jackson's invitation from them as anyone else is.

[realtraveller]

Jesse Jackson's main cause is Jesse Jackson. This is just a publicity stunt for him to try and appear important when he is actually highly irrelevant.

Where was Jesse Jackson in condemning the attacks? Where was he in raising money for the relief efforts? No where to be seen because the focus would not have been on Jesse. He would have been just another face in the crowd.

Now he has found a way to get his face on T. V. and promote himself again.

[jgibson2[$]]

According to a report I heard on the radio today, the Taliban says they did NOT invite Jackson -- he invited himself.

Should be an interesting trip. I hope he has good life insurance, for his kids' sake.

Well, I did a paper on Jesse Jackson when I was in high school and geeze he sure is willing to go to great lengths (that reasonable people wouldn't go to) to get/keep himself in the limelight (after Martin Luther King's death, he wore a fake bloody shirt to get more publicized or...???). I also saw Jackson give a speech one time--he is a solid speaker but I felt left out of the address. Shrug.

Basically I wouldn't trust him to do any sort of negotiation. I wouldn't even negotiate right now to tell you the truth. The Taliban is being totally two-faced in its speeches so basically I wouldn't trust them to negotiate in good faith (and without good faith, negotiation is pointless).

Ander

[kurt_messick]

I object to clerical types doing the work of politicians. Jackson seems to be confused that the Taliban are not, in this case, a religious organisation, but a governmental one.

The Vatican deals with ambassadors of nations on a different level from representatives of other denominations and religions. There is a clear distinction.

Every other nation that is officially or notionally religious (other Arab nations, Israel, Ireland, etc.) recognise the difference between official diplomatic officials and unofficial channels.

And let us not forget -- it is actually illegal for private individuals, however powerful or influential, to enter into negotiations with foreign governments and powers as if they were representing the United States. This once was to prevent big business from representing their interests as official American interests (alas, we too often let that distinction become blurred), but now we have to contend with individuals doing the same thing.

Originally posted by kurt_messick
I object to clerical types doing the work of politicians. Jackson seems to be confused that the Taliban are not, in this case, a religious organisation, but a governmental one.

That could be because Jackson hasn't figured out that he's not a government official.

I wouldn't be surprised if Jackson invited himself. When I first heard of the invitation, that was the first thing that I thought. "Good old Jesse is going to save the world again." Given the strict rules of the Taliban, I don't see how they could possibly respect Jackson enough to care what he has to say.

Sometimes, I think part of his success is that those involved in the conflict just want to get rid of him. "If we give you what you want, will you please just go away?"

BTW, I did see something in the local news about Jackson leading prayer vigils and making speeches to ask for racial tolerance right after Sept 11.

[vania]

I saw good old Jesse on Good Morning America this morning. He claims he did NOT invite himself. He said, "I did not call 1-800- TALIBAN."

Hehe. That just somehow struck me as funny. Even though I suspect he did somehow invite himself, how would he go about doing it? How do you reach those guys in the Taliban anyway??

vania

[poseidon]

Originally posted by vania
I saw good old Jesse on Good Morning America this morning. He claims he did NOT invite himself. He said, "I did not call 1-800- TALIBAN."

Hehe. That just somehow struck me as funny. Even though I suspect he did somehow invite himself, how would he go about doing it? How do you reach those guys in the Taliban anyway??

vania

It wouldn't be that difficult at all I would imagine. All Jesse would have to do is find a Sunni Muslim cleric in the NY area (or for that part, anywhere in the world) who knew how to contact the Taliban and make the request that way.

In a country where religious "leaders" get together all the time for various causes, my guess is that Jesse has several Muslim clerics in his PDA or address book, probably in the same book that he keeps his girlfriend's addresses and phone numbers.

[wivabef]

Originally posted by kurt_messick

And let us not forget -- it is actually illegal for private individuals, however powerful or influential, to enter into negotiations with foreign governments and powers as if they were representing the United States. This once was to prevent big business from representing their interests as official American interests (alas, we too often let that distinction become blurred), but now we have to contend with individuals doing the same thing.

As much as I can barely tolerate Jesse Jackson, I will say this much for him -- his previous efforts and successes in having political and religious prisoners released from embattled countries were legal and were negotiated on a personal level -- not involving the policies and government of the US.

He is a butthead. But he is a cool negotiator. However, in this situation, I am glad to see in recent reports that he has decided against this.

And as far as the Afghani Taliban claiming they didn't invite him and Jesse claiming they did -- whom are we to believe?

And what others have said is right -- Jesse shows up where the spotlight is with little regard as to who put the spotlight there in the first place. I guess he just wouldn't want to pay a visit to "Hymietown" to help in the WTC relief.

I'd much rather see Jesse Ventura go. That feather boa would go over well with the Taliban.