With President Obama's announcement of a greater-than-expected draw-down of troops, an end to the Coalition's long Afghan adventure is at last in sight. Even the elusive Mullah Omar, the Taliban's one-eyed spiritual leader, has reportedly given his blessing to exploratory peace talks with representatives of the U.S. in Qatar: a small but crucial step towards the political compromise that looks certain to end this war. Yet those talks will not succeed unless we understand the nature of the people we are negotiating with -- an understanding that remains partial even after ten years of engagement in their country.
The Taliban have always been misunderstood by the West. From the moment they took over Kabul in 1996 they were demonized as regressive, bearded nutcases who repressed women, decapitated petty criminals, banned music and kite-flying, and impaled television sets on sticks. And yet the worst of what went on during their years in power was not replicated everywhere in Afghanistan. In many places, for instance, the education of girls continued as normal -- even within Kabul. "Islam says that girls should be educated," explained Qari Barakatullah Salim, who ran a large girls' secondary school in the capital, unhindered, throughout the Taliban period. "The Prophet himself was married to an educated businesswoman, Khadijah. The Taliban leadership understands that no nation can survive without education; it is essential to humanity. We are as beasts without it."
Westerners have tended to view the Taliban as a monolithic organization in thrall to Islamic dogma. In reality they are a fluid, revolutionary movement that encompasses a strikingly wide spectrum of religious opinion. There has never been any internal disagreement about the underlying purpose of their revolution -- they wish to live in a country governed by Sharia law, as practised by the Prophet in the late seventh century. But there is plenty of debate among themselves about how best to achieve this Salafist vision. They know that their project is a work in progress, and they can and do acknowledge past mistakes, including errors of Quranic interpretation. Like people anywhere, they are capable of changing their minds. Indeed, in the 15 years that I have been meeting with the Taliban -- usually late at night, sitting cross-legged on the floor over umpteen cups of tea -- I have heard them do so many times.
When Mullah Omar refused to hand over their guest, Osama bin Laden -- the chief suspect in the U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa in 1998 -- most Westerners concluded there was little difference between the Taliban's ultra-conservative brand of Islam and the anti-Western nihilism espoused by al Qaeda. And yet Mullah Omar never shared bin Laden's desire to destroy the West. On the contrary, he craved formal Western recognition for his fledgling Islamic state. No Western capital has ever been attacked by the Taliban. Instead, in December 1997, Omar sent a trade delegation to Sugarland, Texas to discuss a trans-Afghan gas pipeline deal with the now defunct energy firm, Unocal. The mullahs were invited to stay at the home of Unocal Vice President Marty Miller; they were reportedly fascinated by the Miller family's Christmas tree, and the significance of the star on top of it.
The Taliban and al Qaeda may all be Sunnis, but the ideological difference between them remains vast. The latter adhere to the exclusively Arab tradition of Wahhabism, named after Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, an 18th-century Arab scholar who believed in the purification of Islam from heretical "innovations" through violence. Taliban ideology, by contrast, is heavily influenced by Pashtun culture, particularly the ancient tribal honour code known as Pashtunwali. Unlike their Arab guests in the 1990s, the typical Talib is quite comfortable with the mystical traditions that survive in the Afghan countryside, and which pre-date Islam by millennia. The Wahhabi interpretation of Sharia, moreover, most closely follows the Hanbali school of jurisprudence -- another tradition wholly alien to the Hanafi Islam embraced by Afghans.
Tariq Osman, who managed the Taliban's internet office in Kandahar between 1998 and 2001, told me that the relationship between Omar and bin Laden was always "only 10 percent about shared ideas and ideology -- and 90 percent about money." The Taliban, it should not be forgotten, were desperately broke throughout the 1990s, and they had a country to run. Omar tolerated bin Laden in part because he was one of his only sources of income. The West assumed that Omar's Afghanistan was a terrorist-sponsoring state, when it was really a state sponsored by terrorists.
There are, no doubt, ideologues among the Taliban -- and particularly among the Pakistani Taliban -- whose religious worldview is closer than we can accept to that of al Qaeda. The Haqqani Network, a Taliban affiliate organisation whose powerbase straddles the border with Pakistan, is often described as pro-Arab in its outlook, and readier than some of their Afghan Taliban allies to adopt the terrorist tactics pursued by al Qaeda. Jalaluddin Haqqani, the Network's aging leader, counts a Saudi Arab among his wives. Yet even he is not beyond Western redemption. A hero of the anti-Soviet Jihad, he was once frankly revered in Washington. That famous fund-raiser for the Jihad, Congressman Charlie Wilson, called him "Goodness Personified." Haqqani is even thought to have met Ronald Reagan at the White House. People who were friends once can become friends again.
It is of course not just ironic but tragic that our former allies against Communism have turned their Jihad on us. To Pashtuns, who have lived in Afghanistan for perhaps 5,000 years, the soil of their country is literally sacred. The ejection of infidel invaders is therefore a national as well as a religious duty. "We are against war," a Taliban fighter, Commander Abdullah, explained to me recently. "It creates nothing but widows and destruction. But Jihad is different. It is our moral obligation to resist you foreigners." His object was not necessarily to win, but to resist. "One year, a hundred years, a million years, ten million years -- it is not important. We will never stop fighting. At Judgement Day, Allah will not ask, 'What did you do for your country.' He will ask, 'Did you fight for your religion?'"
A successful political settlement will depend, in the end, on whether or not the Taliban truly believe that we are leaving. Will Obama's accelerated draw-down be enough to convince them? They are fully aware that there will still be 70,000 American soldiers in Afghanistan even after 2012. On past performance, it seems unlikely that men like Commander Abdullah will hang up their guns until every last foreign soldier has left.
Wajid Ali Syed: Pakistan's Urban Metamorphosis
Rizwan Ladha: An Insecure and Reluctant Partner
No, he didn't announce that. He announced that the "surge " that was supposed to be temporary was going toinstead last his entire term
As for who is the Taliban...The Taliban are a gorup of people who where never thinking about America until you decided to overthrow their government.
President JFK said, "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country"
How many USA citizens are not unlike the Taliban, fighting for their "special interest", whether that be religious, political, philosophical, etc., rather then what is good for the country?
Patriotism has become a dirty word by those who have no sense of duty and responsibility toward their country. We have become a country of people who ask, "What's in it for me and mine", importing the same.
Equally, I am bewildered why democrats think they are any different then republicans when it comes to lobbying congress for their "Special Interests"?
Drug cartels and sex-slave trafficers pour over the border, for example, but don't dare close that border, reform immigration and USA citizenship, and God forbid, don't complain. And if you do complain, be prepared to be called a racist and bigot.
Each and every day the USA is becoming a more dangerous place to live, and not just because we lack jobs but because we refuse to stem the rabid immorality that exists in our country.
When they refused to turn over a man who (admittedly, not suspected, admitted) was instrumental in the murder of at least 3,000 people - they became an enemy of humanity.
Granted, I wouldn't have invaded Afghanistan if I were CiC - I would have just kept assassinating the Taliban leaders until one of them got the hint to cooperate.
Ah HAAAAAAA... No WONDER the Republicans are cutting education budgets in their states. They don't want to be like the Taliban. I KNEW there was a good reason in there somewhere!
"they wish to live in a country governed by Sharia law, as practised by the Prophet in the late seventh century."
If education has not advanced human understanding in thirteen centuries. It might explain why 13 is deemed so unlucky.
"they are capable of changing their minds."
Or if questioned concerning the fallibility of their understandings, rational enough to realize there is an insurmountable flaw in that process?
"they were reportedly fascinated by the Miller family's Christmas tree, and the significance of the star on top of it."
Fairy’s day off…?
"even he is not beyond Western redemption"
If we seek to convert someone. Should we not convince them, that there exists something more wondrous than what we currently have?
"Allah will not ask, 'What did you do for your country.' He will ask, 'Did you fight for your religion?'"
The wise might reply. Presumably you wanted us to fight to the death for the dominance of one religion? Which is why you gave every individual, a different understanding of what the nature of that religion is.
"it seems unlikely that men like Commander Abdullah will hang up their guns until every last foreign soldier has left."
Then is not the way to fast track advancement to that aspiration, to map-out together those milestones lining the route?
Well, a article asking which come first, your country or religion was blogged a few months or so ago, right here on Huffpo. Many answered that they put their religion ahead of their country, which is telling in itself, given that the USA is a country that supports freedom of religion. Of course it is also a country that supports freedom from religion.
The USA Constitution supports basic human rights, dignity, freedom from tyranny, and the prusuit of life, liberty, and happiness. When a people/person doesn't come from a place/origin that respects those same values for all, they will by default attempt to suppress those values for all, but themselves and those like them, who agree with them, who are coming from that same origin.
Corporations do the same thing when they negate their responsibilities to the USA in favor of gobbling up the perks and privileges.
Corporate America is just as responsbile for the continuing downfall of the USA as are the citizens who allow them such perks and privileges without demanding that they be held accountable to their responsibilites and obligations.
than dance with the devil
embrace values we abhor
and in this "objectivity"
we revel.
what is wrong with
seeing the taliban
as it is,
removing all our troops
and minding our own
biz
When you are regressive, banning music, and repressing women, Ego is winning and intelligence losing.
When you are practicing a religion that does not tolerate other religions, when you believe that your religion gets purified by violence and elimination of those who do not follow your religion, then Ego is winning and Intelligence losing.
When you cannot govern or run your country without resorting to crime and corruption, then Ego is winning and intelligence losing.
When you are interfering with other countries with the sole aim of controlling their natural resources, Ego is winning and Intelligence losing.
When you will finally understand that we are all made up of the same atoms and molecules and have the same religion which is `TO LIVE AND LET LIVE`, then Intelligence will start overtaking the Ego, and the problems will disappear.
It happened in Germany. It’s a sane country and an intelligent country now. It will happen in Afghanistan. Interactions by America, India, Pakistan , and other countries in the affairs of Afghanistan must be designed with precision to ensure that Intelligence overtakes Ego in that country.
during the nam war which americans learned little from most americans did not even know who the viet cong were. they thought it was a simple north verses south war.
americans dont think global their universe is the united states and most care nothing about learning other nations or their culture. american exceptionalism is alive and well in spite of our imperialism around the world.
we will leave in defeat and claim victory. the afghans are fighters the iraqi's are lovers and much easier to control their country. beside the iraqis have way too much oil to leave, just keep our puppet gov locked up in the green zone and we will be home free.
find me one american that cares about the harm we have done to either of these nations. they are far and few between save the ladies in pink.
americans care about the american lives lost and the wealth spent to fight this long war. americans want quick and easy wars wam bam and super power wins it for the gipper.
Great Post!
You had me from the second paragraph, "The moment they took over Kabul in 1996 (the Taliban) were demonized as regressive, bearded nutcases who repressed women, decapitated petty criminals, banned music and kite-flying, and impaled television sets on sticks."
Well, yay-ahh!
Though your sarcasm pushes right into the absurd, thanks nonetheless for some hilarious comic relief on a subject that many of your peers continue to consider very serious indeed!
PS - I can understand how your experiences led to what you posted. Here's a suggestion: Instead of just "sitting cross-legged on the floor over umpteen cups of tea", maybe stand up, politely excuse yourself, and visit "whizzeristan". Such relief from such discomfort can clarify the mind.
Though James' sarcasm pushes right into the absurd, nonetheless he provides some hilarious comic relief on a subject that many of his peers continue to consider very serious indeed
Of course W chose to throw our lot there in with a bunch of corrupt warlords and drug dealers with ties to US energy conglomerates. The rest is, as they say, history.
The MIC is always flush with cash to infiltrate politics and the media in order to garner enough public acceptance of their chosen "imminent threat to America".
I voted for Obama and probably will again, due to Citizens United fiasco, but I pray that he will use his second term to eventually clarify who the real enemy is.
Please!
Iow's, the lies on both sides of the Alantic are outrageous and egregious, and there is no making a silk purse out of a pigs ear, no matter which side of the Alantic is trying to do so. That evil exists in one does not mean that evil doesn't exist in the other. Misery appears to like company, and the Good people of both sides suffers. The Taliban is no more boy scouts then are the those that practice evil in the USA and people shouldn't be afraid to say so, nor be silenced when they do say so. The evil corruption that is going on is............well, evil, no matter who is doing it.
I'd think university proffessors, and ultra liberal fabricators would have to back off, that or get the chuzpah to take to the streets.