The short answer is this:
(1) Unlike many parts of the world, Afghanistan did not have a history of civil war or "warlordism"..
The link you kindly provided to me had a nice article that decried the history of Warlord difficulties. There are other links that reference the history of Warlords in Afghanistan but I figure you must already know that. From your link:
”In Afghanistan, the warlords are fighting each other again, as they have for decades.
”It is a nation with ancient history and great civilization. The ethnic and religious rivalries that I spoke of never burst into explosions until foreign involvement.
From Wikipedia:
Since 1900, eleven rulers were unseated through undemocratic means: 1919 (assassination), 1929 (abdication), 1929 (execution), 1933 (assassination), 1973 (deposition), 1978 (execution), 1979 (execution), 1979 (execution), 1987 (removal), 1992 (overthrow), 1996 (overthrow) and 2001 (overthrow).
”So I think the US-Pakistan-Saudi coalition bears fair responsibility for the aftermath…
I agree that things could have gone much better if we could have for seen the rise of something like the Taliban. Obviously we did not and I challenge you to find articles prior to their investment in Afghanistan that made such a prediction.
2) You make it sound like there was some home-grown resistance movement that US simply supplied arms to and later left them alone to self determination.
I am sorry if I wasn’t more articulate. The people of Afghanistan deserve a great deal of credit for their historical resolve and sturdiness against those who met them at the crossroads of Empire building. However, they received help from others who later saw an opportunity to exploit their role (OBL for example).
”In fact the people that US left Afghanistan to were either CIA imports from Arabia or Pakistani trained zealots.
Right. But the role they took upon themselves was not by our design.
”Did US policy makers think that Saudi or Pakistan were more interested in welfare of Afghans than their own agenda?”
I see no reason to believe other wise. I am sure that from the Wahabist point of view, they believe they were doing that. You and I view things differently. We were naïve to leave things the way we did. I have already conceded that. You push that culpability to far by suggesting it was somehow by our design.
”(3) Why don't you educate yourself as to who Hekmatyar was and what he did to his own countrymen with US/Pakistani assistance before dismissing US responsibility.”
I have not dismissed responsibility, for myself personally (although I claim ignorance as an excuse for my past oversights), the USA generally, and the world of noble human beings who could have and should have stood up in the past, and who can now stand up to make a constructive and positive difference.
”The bottom line remains, Pakistan did and still does want to own Afghanistan in one form or another. Saudis do want to spread Wahhabism all over the world. At the time US did not care one bit about the who or the how of Afghanistan war so long as maximal damage was done to Russians.
I would label your characterization ” US did not care one bit” as a gross over statement. Our level of concern has raised substantially since then but it was not null after the Russians left. Obviously the US cared but allowed things to get very carried away before intervening. It was, after all, largely the US who eventually stood up at the fore front. |
