Buried in a few news briefs I found this:
“Retreating al-Qaida fighters said they were willing to discuss surrender terms after losing a key mountain in fierce fighting Tuesday, and eastern alliance forces chasing them halted their fire. Mohammed Zaman, defense chief for the tribal eastern alliance, agreed to the truce during a two-way radio conversation with Arab al-Qaida forces.”
No one has picked up this as a lead story yet. I wonder why, doesn’t seem like the press is ready for peace either.
Instead, I find this from CNN: “Opposition tells al Qaeda to surrender or face death.” Yet a more sedate headline from MSNBC reads: “Al-Qaida forces discuss surrender, face ultimatum.” But, the next one says, grimly: “Pentagon warns of tougher battles ahead”. In that same article you can read: ?Again, I want to repeat, it is very important to keep our focus on this war in Afghanistan,? Paul D. Wolfowitz, deputy defense secretary, said at a Pentagon news conference yesterday. ?It?s a classic military mistake to leave a partially defeated enemy on the battlefield in one form or another.?
Reminds me of one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies, Full Metal Jacket: “We gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over.”