No, it is not a joke.
Jesse: “My brothers in Afghanistan have called upon me to mediate and bring about a peaceful solution to this conflict.”
Taliban: “Jesse who? The tell the infidel dog to go away. Wait, on second thought, let him in [and fetch my best flogging cane]”
Ignore the stray ‘the’. Told you I was laughing too hard to type.
There are so many funny things about this - about 4 co-workers have stuck their heads out of their offices into mine over the course of the day because of my giggling.
As a sort of serious aside, hasn’t Jackson done some international negociating before? or maybe I’m misinformed…
I return you now to mad giggling and hearty whooping…
Coulda been worse. I thought y’all meant Jesse Helms.
No one (The gov’t anyway) thinks it’ll work, but if it stops an extremely expensive war, it’ll be worth it. He’s also trying to get the two young women released from prison in Afgh. being held.
I remember something about a pilot getting released in the middle east because of him.
From the last page of a Yahoo link:
Jackson previously negotiated the freedom of American hostages in Syria, Cuba and Yugoslavia.
and when reading the title I thought of Jesse Ventura
Maybe they should send all three.
Come to think of it, I’d pay $150 to go see The Three Jesses at a big ol’ stadium. Hmmm…
Rev. Jackson is an ordained minister.
Wonder if he’ll have time to do any preacing and/or conversions while he’s in Afghanistan. 
I saw Colin Powell on the tube at lunchtime saying, basically, Rev. Jackson can do whatever he wants but he doesn’t speak for the U.S.
Nor was he ‘invited’, as he said, according to the Taliban statement within the article. You have to laugh at his tactics in orchestrating his 15 minutes in this debacle. When the laughing is over, though, it is reprehensible to use such a tragedy as the backdrop for your own masturbatory public relations coup.
They just said on FOX news that Jesse was now saying he is not inclined to visit Afaganistan.
No reason given at this time.
Please, can we send him anyway? Maybe they’ll keep him.
Only if we throw in the other two Jesse’s (Jessi?)…