Blinkered

Another potent tidbit from the Hersh article:

The Administration’s decision to treat the Taliban as though all its members identified with, and would fight for, Al Qaeda was also a crucial early mistake. “There were deep divisions within the Taliban that could have been exploited through a political-military effort which is the essence of unconventional warfare,” Rothstein said. “A few months of intensive diplomatic, intelligence and military preparations between Special Forces and anti-Taliban forces would have made a significant difference.”

A bit of context would be much appreciated. Did the Bush administration make an honest to goodness error here, or did a black-and-white view of the enemy (taliban = baddies, therefore: destroy!) actually hamper their ability to evaluate the situation? Because if the latter is true, then we have pretty tangible proof—more relevant than anything Richard Clarke could possibly muster up—that Bush is too ideologically blinkered to fight the war on terror.

Alas, Hersh gives us nothin'.