Lessons of history unlearned in Afghanistan
Remember how bad the Afghans screwed up after the Soviets left their country back in 1988? It was then that they allowed the Taliban to seize control of their government and turned the country into a terrorist playground. Of course, now they’re set to do that all over again. And of course, instead of blaming themselves, they’re preparing to blame the US, according to the Stars & Stripes;
Mohammad Hamimi joined the fight against the Soviets in his 20s and rose to become a commander under famed Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who later battled the Taliban in northern Afghanistan. Hamimi later became governor of Logar and Badakhshan provinces. He said the time of jihad, or holy war, against the Soviets were days of high morale and hope for the future, despite daily privations and the constant threat of death from the better-armed Soviet army and air force.
“Thirty-two friends were killed in a single day, but there was not a single tear shed because they died for the goal of making their country free,” Hamimi said.
Now 55, with a healthy dose of gray in his close-cropped beard, Hamimi is worried the fight was for naught. He blames the civil war of the early 1990s and America’s failure to crush the Taliban early after their invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Or, it could be that the Afghans can’t see past the end of their collect nose far enough into the future to take advantage of the opportunity that the US provided them by driving the Taliban from the capital and into the mountains.
Or, maybe it’s God’s fault;
“Muslims always have hope from God, but with this situation, we don’t know what will happen,” Hamwar said.
My God says he’ll help those who help themselves. I thought it was the same God, with the same rules.
Category: Terror War
Think it’s more a matter of the Taliban were organized and capable of bringing law and order, even if it’s extreme law an order, whereas others weren’t. Getting rid of oppression is good and all but people cry out for rule of law if they are to have a functional society. Be it preventing petty theft or crimes like rape, ensuring business agreements are upheld and people can live their day to day lives… the Taliban have been able to do that in some areas where the Afghani alternative (if you can call it that) is little more than a warlord demanding extortion money like a bad mafia boss.
If we were going to send the military in there like we did, we should have been prepared to run it like any other US protectorate territory… rather than rush to turn it over to nepotistic criminals. Granted that’s speaking from the sidelines but, it’s my view at least.
The fact that we’re currently cursed with an Administration that craps on the Military at every opportunity doesn’t help either. They’re wanting to make our efforts fail as much as they can, let’s not forget how often John *BLEEP*ing Kerry, “Hairplugs” Biden, and B. Hussein 0bama perpetually berated our efforts and said we were failures during the Bush years, while the left’s media lackeys do little more than kiss their asses!
Same God, different messenger and different message.
Don’t know what happened. We were winning when I left. 10 years ago.
‘now they’re set to do that all over again’ – Let them. I’m sick of this crap.
The Taliban are lining up to start a spring offensive right now.
http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653378/s/2b470a89/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C280C1795530A90Etaliban0Emarks0Estart0Eof0Emonumental0Espring0Eoffensive0Ewith0Edeadly0Eattack0Dlite/story01.htm
I want our people out of their, all of them, A-S-A-P. Period.
You can’t change Afghanistan ( read bring it into the 21st Century) until you change it’s culture. The idea of “Nation building” is naive. If you have an old decrepit shack you can’t built a mansion on the same shitty foundation. Unless the people themselves wake the hell up and shed the yoke of tribalism, Fuedal-type local government and Law based on fanatical Islam they will always live in a dung heap. I look at it as Darwinism on a National Scale. If they are they stupid they deserve to be extinct as a nation and a people.
I always wondered how much different things would have been if Ahmad Shah Massoud was not assassinated.
The Taliban did what we didn’t do: learn the Afghans. The Taliban didn’t just march in – they took the role of the central government and Mullah Omar took the Afghan role of King. The warlords were busy fighting each other and the Taliban used economy of force to keep the warlords at each others’ throats.
We tried to democratize a tribal monarchy and were strategically self-defeated by the spring of 2003. The ewoks crushed the stormtroopers. Go figure.
Not going to change a nation where only 15% of the retards can read.
The only way you can change Afshitistan is to kill every male 12 years or older, level every Maddrasah and have Westerners settle there and breed with the women. The only way they know how to fight is to the death. Of Course the Western World is fat too civilized to conduct that type of warfare.
“My God says he’ll help those who help themselves.”
Two Qs, John:
1. Who is your God?
2. Where did He say that?