Frist: include Taliban in Afghan government

It's an idea crazy and cool at the same time. If it does work, that's surely a super cool idea, but the problem is it may end up like Vietnam.

The Tennessee Republican said he learned from briefings that Taliban fighters were too numerous and had too much popular support to be defeated on the battlefield.

"You need to bring them into a more transparent type of government," Frist said during a brief visit to a U.S. and Romanian military base in the southern Taliban stronghold of Qalat. "And if that's accomplished, we'll be successful."

He said the only way to win in places like the volatile southern part of the country is to "assimilate people who call themselves Taliban into a larger, more representative government."

"Approaching counterinsurgency by winning hearts and minds will ultimately be the answer," Frist said. "Military versus insurgency one-to-one doesn't sound like it can be won. It sounds to me ... that the Taliban is everywhere."

I pretty much agree that winning the hearts is the ultimate answer. But first, it may be called cut and run by some people. Second, the one who makes this decision may not like the idea. Oh....well....