Taliban still rocking like a hurricane
Poster's note: Didn't we "win" this war too?
mnftiu.cc
"Taliban, other militias regrouping, coalescing"
Printed on Friday, April 11, 2003 @ 14:03:21 CST ( )
By Matthew Riemer
YellowTimes.org Columnist (United States)
(YellowTimes.org) EAs Afghanistan has left the minds of most pundits and politicians and fallen from the headlines of U.S. corporate newsprint, many of the "elements" eradicated during Operation Enduring Freedom are resurfacing under many different guises as well as some familiar ones.
In the southern part of the country, recent reports point to a regrouping of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban, who were targeted by the United States during their invasion of Afghanistan for providing shelter and support to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. Skirmishes and firefights involving smaller, lesser-known groups are also frequently reported by Afghan officials in Kabul.
Many civilians are not entirely opposed to such a revival as they feel that the Karzai government is failing at its given task of bringing stability and security to Afghanistan, while they are suspicious of the intent of the Americans.
In addition to thousands of dead already, on Wednesday, April 9 more innocent Afghans were killed in one of the U.S.' many "unfortunate accidents." The Associated Press reported: "An American warplane mistakenly bombed a house, killing 11 civilians near Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan." Incidents like these do not help the
image of the U.S. military presence and actually serve as a stimulus for civilians to turn to local militias or anyone, for that matter, who is capable of offering them some kind of security.
Tribune News Services of New Delhi wrote on April 10, "The Taliban fighters hiding in Pakistan and in the areas located along the Afghanistan border are hoping to take advantage of the rising anti-U.S. sentiments among the Afghans to come back to power. Various
Taliban groups have reportedly already had a meeting and have decided to regroup under the leadership of Mullah Mohammad Omar."
On February 19 the U.S. State Department designated Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist." Hekmatyar who leads the group Hizb-i-Islami as well as being a former Prime Minister has become one the most prominent anti-American leaders in recent months and is linked to both the Taliban and al Qaeda according to the State Department.
The State Department's claims seem to be born out be recent events, which continue to indicate a regrouping of anti-American and Western
elements throughout Afghanistan who are using the failure of the United States' proxy government in Kabul and the inherent distrust
of the U.S. in general to their advantage when recruiting new members and civilian support.
The events so far this year, then, have been most unwelcome by those who had hoped for an Afghanistan on a road to quick recovery and democratization. This must be all the more frustrating as these
events cannot be separated from the U.S.' newfound focus on Iraq and
the fact that all the aid promised Karzai's government in Tokyo last
year has yet to arrive.
Perhaps the greatest sign that the situation is dire is that the
Taliban, even in some highly altered form, could regain any kind of
power and influence at all. Though, now, unlike before, much of the
nascent Taliban's newfound support may be coming from those looking
to them as some kind of vehicle for Afghan nationalism opposed to an
austere and repressive brand of Islam.
The newspapers and radio waves are filled with how to "secure the
peace" in Iraq, how that government will form and evolve, and how
the Iraqi people will take the first faltering steps towards some
kind of democratic, free-market Utopia, yet these questions are as
applicable to Afghanistan as they are Iraq. It's also worth noting
the irony in the fact that the situation in Afghanistan is becoming
worse right as another rebuilding process is beginning several
hundred miles to the west. Just think, if the U.S. invades Iran
next, a giant swath of Eurasia from Pakistan to Syria will be
destabilized. |
