Dealing with the Taliban

 Can the U.S. trust the Taliban?  No, of course not.

Are the Taliban still fanatics who will kill innocent people in the name of their religion?  Of course they are.

Are these the same people who destroyed the world heritage Bamiyan Buddhist statues?  The very same.

Should the U.S. continue to deal with them on various issues?  Of course we should.  

One of the problems with modern diplomacy is that too much of it takes place in the glare of publicity.  The Taliban are now in charge of Afghanistan.  They are terrible people, but they are in charge.  Members of Congress and news pundits can pontificate about never making deals with them, but if you are in Afghanistan right now and you want to get out, you are praying for the U.S., perhaps working with other countries like Qatar, to engage the Taliban.  As distasteful and repulsive as that sounds, there are times we need to make a deal with the devil.