Hi everyone!
So I'm a little confused. We've spent the past ten years fighting a justifiable war against the Taliban only to suddenly give them legitimacy by allowing them to open a business office in Qatar. I don't get it. Is the U.S. and NATO conceding defeat? Is the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan to be remembered as another example of an occupying force's inability to gain victory over the Afghani people? It happened to the British a hundred years ago and then again, in more recent memory, to the Soviets. I remember being a kid and watching the long procession of Soviet tanks and forces marching out of Afghanistan on television. While NATO is committed to keeping troops in the country until 2014, is this latest news the first step in giving the country back to the Taliban lock, stock, and barrel?
In addition to granting the Taliban office space in Qatar, the U.S. is considering releasing Taliban detainees from Guantanamo, including one Muhammad Fazl, a former Taliban deputy defense minister. According to a report in today's New York Times, Mr. Fazl is responsible for, among many other such 'indiscretions' I'm sure, directing attacks against Shiite Muslims and killing thousands of them.
So what is this all about? We can't beat them, so we might as well play along with them? If that's the case, and if I were one of the thousands of soldiers who have given their lives and limbs to fighting the good fight in Afghanistan, I'd be pretty pissed off. The Taliban have a proven track record of medieval brutality, suppression of women, and other barbaric atrocities, not the least of which is the stoning to death of women and young girls suspected of infidelity or of merely having a voice. The Taliban embraced Osama bin Laden, or have we forgotten ten years after 9/11?
I realize there is only so much that can be done in Afghanistan. President Karzai's administration is far from trustworthy and his connections to the opium trade and feudal warlords is well- and often- publicized. Government incentives and subsidies to help poor farmers grow wheat and other 'legitimate' crops in place of poppy cultivation has proven a failure any way you look at it. But...for the first time in more than twenty years, girls have been allowed to go to school, giving them some hope for a future brighter than what they had known before. If we legitimize the Taliban by giving them the tools and resources to open an office and become something like Taliban Inc., when those final troops pull out in 2014, do we really believe they won't undo everything that has been attempted to improve the lot of the average Afghani citizen? It is not only foolish, but irresponsible, to think this way.
Sahar Gul and Sayyid Hashemi deserve better than this.
Ciao.
John, While I agree with you about legitimizing the Taliban, I can't help but think we need to find another way forward in Afghanistan. We cannot commit to being there forever...and cannot impose a system that will be rejected at every turn while we fight a war of attrition. That being said, we absolutely need to have some way to act as watchdog and protector to safeguard the legitimate rights of the Afghanis. Once again, we find ourselves in the role of policeman without much support from any so-called friends and allies. Let's try building more bridges that actually lead somewhere.
ReplyDelete