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Bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age
Tamim Ansary is an Afghani-American writer. Here is his take on Afghanistan and the whole mess we are in: I've been hearing a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio today, allowed that this would mean killing innocent people, people who had nothing to do with this atrocity, but "we're at war, we have to accept collateral damage. What else can we do?" Minutes later I heard some TV pundit discussing whether we "have the belly to do what must be done." And I thought about the issues being raised especially hard because I am from Afghanistan, and even though I've lived here for 35 years I've never lost track of what's going on there. So I want to tell anyone who will listen how it all looks from where I'm standing. I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity in New York. I agree that something must be done about those monsters. But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They're not even the government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who took over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political criminal with a plan. When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." It's not only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would exult if someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and clear out the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their country. Some say, why don't the Afghans rise up and overthrow the Taliban? The answer is, they're starved, exhausted, hurt, incapacitated, suffering. A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan -- a country with no economy, no food. There are millions of widows. And the Taliban has been burying these widows alive in mass graves. The soil is littered with land mines, the farms were all destroyed by the Soviets. These are a few of the reasons why the Afghan people have not overthrown the Taliban. We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble is, that's been done. The Soviets took care of it already. Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all that. New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today's Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They'd slip away and hide. Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled orphans, they don't move too fast, they don't even have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn't really be a strike against the criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it would only be making common cause with the Taliban -- by raping once again the people they've been raping all this time. So what else is there? What can be done, then? Let me now speak with true fear and trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go in there with ground troops. When people speak of "having the belly to do what needs to be done" they're thinking in terms of having the belly to kill as many as needed. Having the belly to overcome any moral qualms about killing innocent people. Let's pull our heads out of the sand. What's actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just because some Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. It's much bigger than that folks. Because to get any troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. We're flirting with a world war between Islam and the West. And guess what: that's Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he wants. That's why he did this. Read his speeches and statements. It's all right there. He really believes Islam would beat the West. It might seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the world into Islam and the West, he's got a billion soldiers. If the West wreaks a holocaust in those lands, that's a billion people with nothing left to lose; that's even better from Bin Laden's point of view. He's probably wrong, in the end the West would win, whatever that would mean, but the war would last for years and millions would die, not just theirs but ours. Who has the belly for that? Bin Laden does. Anyone else? Tamim Ansary
From Another PerspectiveWhat a sweetened, glurgy load of horse-hockey. This "Tamim" may be an "Afghani" but he sure doesn't have his facts straight: But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They're not even the government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who took over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political criminal with a plan. When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." It's not only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would exult if someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and clear out the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their country. The world first became aware of the Taleban in 1994 when they were appointed by Islamabad to protect a convoy trying to open up a trade route between Pakistan and Central Asia. The group - comprised of Afghans trained in religious schools in Pakistan along with former Islamic fighters or mujahedin - proved effective bodyguards, driving off other mujahedin groups who attacked and attempted to loot the convoy. They went on to take the nearby city of Kandahar, beginning a remarkable advance which led to their capture of the capital, Kabul, in September 1996, not 1997 like schmoe thinks. Far from being the innocents Tamim makes them out to be, the Afghani people were all for the Taleban in the beginning. The Taleban's popularity with many Afghans initially surprised the country's warring mujahedin factions. As ethnic Pashtuns, a large part of their support came from Afghanistan's Pashtun community, disillusioned with existing ethnic Tajik and Uzbek leaders. But it was not purely a question of ethnicity. Ordinary Afghans, weary of the prevailing lawlessness in many parts of the country, were often delighted by Taleban successes in stamping out corruption, restoring peace and allowing commerce to flourish again. Their refusal to deal with the existing warlords whose rivalries had caused so much killing and destruction also earned them respect. The Taleban said their aim was to set up the world's most pure Islamic state, banning frivolities like television, music and cinema. Their attempts to eradicate crime have been reinforced by the introduction of Islamic law including public executions and amputations. A flurry of regulations forbidding girls from going to school and women from working quickly brought them into conflict with the international community. Such issues, along with restrictions on women's access to health care, have also caused some resentment among ordinary Afghans. The Taleban now control all but the far north of the country, which is the last stronghold of the ethnic Tajik commander Ahmed Shah Masood. With 90% of the country under their control, the Taleban have continued to press claims for international recognition. But the Afghan seat at the United Nations continues to be held by former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, because the Taleban government is recognized only by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE (United Arab Emirates, which is reviewing its stance in light of recent events). To say that the Taleban isn't the government of the country is foolish: they rule the country. Far from being "Hitler", Osama bin Laden is an exiled Saudi millionaire who fled to Afghanistan to escape international punishment for other atrocities he has masterminded, like the bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, killing almost 300 people. Osama is not the leader or ruler of the Taleban, and likely isn't greatly involved in the Taleban's governing. The Taleban say that Osama Bin Laden is a guest in their country, and they will not take action against him. The soil is littered with land mines, the farms were all destroyed by theSoviets. These are a few of the reasons why the Afghan people have not overthrown the Taliban. We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble is, that's been done. The Soviets took care of it already. Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all that. Schools and hospitals are for men only per Taleban decree. The medicine and health care have been cutoff per UN sanctions, initially for the Taleban's refusal to extradite Osama bin Laden. These problems are entirely under the Taliban's control. Afghanistan has suffered 20 years of war, first from the Soviet Union, but largely internal strife (Tamim seems bent on blaming the Soviet Union for all of Afghanistan's troubles, however the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989). This year has also brought the worst drought in decades. It is a combination of things both natural and unnatural which has put Afghanistan in its current predicament. New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. Why not? No reason is presented. Having the belly to overcome any moral qualms about killing innocent people. Isn't that what any/every war is about? Name one military activity EVER where an innocent person did not die. What's actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just because some Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. Please. The United Stated military of 2001 is far more technically advanced than the Soviet military of the early 1980s. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it: I can assure you the U.S. has no intention of getting caught in a quagmire of a ground war like the Soviets did. Most likely, we'll bomb the crap out of Afghanistan for forty days and forty nights, and then send our ground forces in with mops to clean up the mess. Besides, even if we do end up fighting a ground war, a current Yahoo poll with over 13,000 responses suggests that nearly 80% of Americans would still support a ground war, even with promised American casualties. It's much bigger than that folks. Because to get any troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Wrong again! On September 14th, 2001, Pakistan pledged its support to any forces attempting to extract Osama bin Laden out of Afghanistan. This includes, but is not limited to, allowing the U.S. to stage troop maneuvers from Pakistan and to fly through Pakistani airspace. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. We're flirting with a world war between Islam and the West. And guess what: that's Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he wants. That's why he did this. Read his speeches and statements. It's all right there. He really believes Islam would beat the West. It might seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the world into Islam and the West, he's got a billion soldiers. If the West wreaks a holocaust in those lands, that's a billion people with nothing left to lose, that's even better from Bin Laden's point of view. Um... yeah. Most of the Muslim world has denounced this attack, including longtime foes of the U.S.: Libya and Iran. First off, only the truly stupid (Saddam) would piss off the planet's most advanced (and one of the largest) military powers. Most Muslim nations are bright enough to realize that this is an incident that worldwide, sympathies are running very strong towards the Americans. This could very well pit the rest of the world against the Muslim countries, and they aren't about to jeopardize themselves for the horrific acts of a radical, even if they are not distressed over the acts that have occurred. There is little sign that UN sanctions against Afghanistan for the Taleban's refusal to extradite bin Laden will change the Taleban's policies, or weaken their position within the country. Despite the atrocities the Taleban has committed against women, they remain immensely popular with the male population in control. The world has tried to be reasonable. The world has tried the peaceful solutions, and they have not worked. We now must move to the other options, including, yes, force, and the deaths of innocent civilians. One last note: the people of Afghanistan are not stupid, and they have been fleeing the capital city of Kabul in droves in anticipation of what's coming.
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