It is an unspeakable tragedy that an evidently deranged U.S. soldier allegedly killed 16 civilians in Afghanistan recently.
But horrible as those shootings were, it appears that they may have played a role in derailing unwise Obama administration plans to engage in "talks" and "negotiations" with the radical Taliban in Afghanistan. And putting a stop to those talks is a good thing.
The Taliban harbored Osama bin Laden and other leaders of the al-Qaida terrorist network before and after al-Qaida's despicable terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. That prompted our nation to invade Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, which killed almost 3,000 Americans.
Apart from their support for terrorism, the Taliban had been noted for the viciousness of their regime in Afghanistan prior to the U.S. invasion. Afghan women in particular suffered cruelly under the Taliban, and religious tolerance was almost nonexistent.
So there is nothing in the Taliban's past that should have prompted the Obama administration to seek negotiations of any sort with them. The Taliban remain enemies of civilized society and have shown little remorse about aiding the al-Qaida terrorists who attacked the United States.
Whatever may have brought it about, it is a good thing that potential negotiations between our country and the Taliban have now apparently been canceled.