By: A M Eskandary
May 2012
Radical Islam;
the Taliban
and
Western hegemony
Western hegemony
The human history is full of conflicts, wars,
mass killings as well as grave crimes against humanity. Such rivalries have
usually taken place in the pretext of pure racial or totalitarian ideology or sectarian
conflict inside the same religion or ideology, in which millions of innocent
people have lost their lives. The historic crusade wars between Christians and
Muslims, the mass killings in the Former Soviet Union after the 1917
revolution, the genocide by Nazi Hitler, as well as the mass killings in China
during the so called ‘Cultural Revolution’ are solid examples of ideological
and religious hatred amongst opponents. Further examples would be the mass
killing by Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and other Asian, African and Latin American
countries and lastly the mass murders and genocide by Islamic extremist in
Iraq, Somali, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries.
An
attempt will be made in this essay to answer in what sense Radical Islam and
the Taliban movement can be considered a threat to heuman values and western
hegemony by examining the radical Islam movement in the Islamic world, and more
specifically the Taliban movement in Afghanistan by focussing on the rise,
development and fall of the this movement from 1995 to 2001, as well as their
conflict with international forces after the NATO intervention since 2001.
Finally, a conclusion will be made to see to what extent the radical extremist
version of Taliban Islam is a threat to Islam as a religion, to Afghanistan as
a country, and to the global community as a whole.
At the
onset, a short examination into Islam and Islamic civilization shall be made,
as well as a brief insight into Afghanistan as an Islamic country. The number
of Muslims in the world is currently around 1.6 billion; circa 23% of the
world's population[1].
Muslims are the majority in 49 countries and according to BBC, it is the
fastest growing religion including in European countries[2]
and CNN estimations demonstrate that in twenty years from now, the global
Muslim population will increase to an overwhelming 2.2 billon people[3].
Islam
and Jihad
In old
Arabic, the word "Islam” means peace, and more accurately, it entails
submission to God’s will and obedience to His laws. Islam in its genuine form
is a truly peace-loving, forgiving and harmonious religion. In fact, one of the
basic principles of this religion is tolerance
and compassion towards not only fellow believers, but the human brotherhood
in general. The unfortunate fact is that
the Islamic fundamentalist and radical movements, as increased tremendously
since the 9/11 attacks, has made many to instinctively come to the unfortunate
conclusion that this religion is anything but peaceful.
Islamic
Fundamentalism
Although
the origins of Islamic fundamentalism can be traced back to the 17th
and 18th Century[4],
the basic contemporary notions of this movement were articulated in the 1920’s
by Hassan al-Binna[5];
the founder of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Said Qubt[6];
its main leader, as well as Mawdudi[7];
the founder of the Jamaat e-Islami in the Indian subcontinent.
A key question to be asked at this early stage is why Islamic fundamentalism and
radicalism has considerably grown. The main explanation,
as provided by many Islamic scholars and activists, is that the movement has in
fact been in response to a loss in once held dominance in the world in respect
to science, politics and intellect by Muslims. Fundamentalism and radicalism is
therefore a defensive reaction to Western colonialism and cultural and
political domination. Islamic fundamentalists believe in abidance to strict
Sharia laws. Obviously western civilisation includes particular social norms,
values and practices which do not correspond to strict Sharia laws and are
therefore considered to "threaten
[to dilute] Islamic identity by a syncretistic mix with un-Islamic
elements". In contrast to some Islamic modernists who are
accepting of certain modern western values like democracy and pluralism,
fundamentalists reject even these views and seek a return to the original
sources of Islam in the context of the so called “jihad” which has caused them to take positive violent action
against the modern secular nation-state. A further explanation of increasing
Islamic radicalism is the disapproval of growing Western political hegemony and
military interferences in third-world Islamic countries. The United States and
western military presence in Saudi Arab, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine as
well as the western Alliance with Israel have been a major cause of the spread
of Islamic fundamentalism and radicalism.
Radical
Islam:
Radical
Islam is more political oriented, partisan and strong-minded for changes in any
way and at any cost. It is not simply an extreme and fundamental version of
Islam, but rather a cultural-social ideology dominating all aspects of life and
a serious threat to western political and cultural thinking. Identical to other
totalitarian ideological movements, its primary objective is to dominate all
those within its reach and oppose other ideas. Radical Islamists advocate for the existence of
a society based on the Qur’an and Hadith. Radical Muslims believe that “foreign and secular influences are
distorting and poisoning Muslim societies and press for a return to their
perception of an Islam’s earliest era. Jihad (“holy war”) and Dawa
(proselytizing) are the means to achieve this end.”[8]
They furthermore believe that Jihad
is an additional pillar of Islam. “Jihad” means ‘struggle’ and consists two parts:
"the Greater Struggle" and the "The Lesser Struggle”. The former
is the spiritual struggle within oneself against sin, and the latter means
struggle against social injustice in all kind and to some extent, a struggle
against anyone who does not respect Muslim beliefs or invades Muslim
territory. Thankfully, most if not all
Islamic scholars believe what the al-Qaida, Taliban and other terroristic
movements do in the name of Jihad and Islam are neither Islamic nor
Jihad.
Some
comments on Afghanistan:
Afghanistan
is an Islamic country with an estimated population of 30 million people, and
lays in the middle of central and south Asia. This country is a mosaic of more
than 20 ethnic groups, the major ones being Pashtuns (over 35%), Tajiks,
Hazaras and Uzbeks. From 1747 when Ahmad shah Durani took over from Nader
Afshar, the king of khorasan, the Pashtuns have been the main rulers of the
country. Afghanistan people speak with more the 22 languages, but the official
languages are Dari and Pashtu. Furthermore, about 99% of Afghans are Muslims, a
mere 1% being Hindus, Sikhs or followers of other religions. From the Muslims,
80% are Sunni (Hanafi) and 19% are Shia (Jafari and Islaili).[9]
Discussing
and answering the political problems in Afghanistan is practically impossible
without studying and understanding the past and present history of the region
and country itself. According to G.M. Ghubar and M.S. Farhang, two prominent
Historians of Afghanistan, before Islam the country was called Ariana, and
following Islam became known as Khorassan. It was from the 1880’s onwards that
it was named Afghanistan.[10]
The contemporary Afghanistan with its new geography took shape
when Amir Abdul Rahman Khan (1880-1901) was in power. In fact, the British and
Russian empires imposed this geography to create a ‘Buffer State’ between their
zones of influence in the region. All the Border lines in the north, west, east
and south of Afghanistan were drawn at the time when Henry Mortimer Durand was
the Foreign Secretary of British India. These lines divided Tajik, Uzbek and
Turkmen in the north and east, and Pashtun and Baluchis in the south and east.
Even though the Durand Line was recognised as an official border between
Afghanistan and British India by all Afghan rulers after Amir Abdul Rahman’s
ruling, including Amir Amanullah khan the King of Afghanistan after
independence (1919). But the boarder became disputable after withdrawal of the
British from the subcontinent and establishment of the new Islamic country
Pakistan. From the first day of Pakistani independence, Afghan rulers
(monarchist, republican, communist, mujahidin or fundamentalists) never
accepted the Durand line as an official border line between Afghanistan and
Pakistan, although it is recognized internationally and there are some border
control posts and custom duty offices from both sides. The dispute over Durand
line is the main source of tension between the two countries and interfering of
Pakistan in Afghan affairs. The Support of Pakistani governments to Mujahidin
during Soviet invasion and later backing the Taliban, among other reasons, is
feeding from this source.
In
recent history of the country, after forty year of relatively stable monarchy,
King Zahir Shah (1993-1973) was overthrown by his cousin Mohammad Daoud Khan in
1973. Daoud, as a reformist and enthusiastic supporter of so called
Pashtunistan Issue, established very good relations with the Soviet Union when
he was prime minister during 1953 to 1963. During the military Coup, Daoud had
enjoyed the support of PDPA; a party with soviet ideology and trends.
Reciprocally, the PDPA enjoyed
significant support from the government, while the Islamic groups and
other left and nationalist parties were suppressed. As a result of this soviet
backed coup, PDPA members (from both Khalq and Parchan) occupied some leading
and important posts in the national armed forces. Daoud Khans’ relations with
Soviet Union became tense after his last visit with Leonid Brezhnev in 1977,
and he sought support from some Arabic countries, the
Shah of Iran and the West. This was the final effort of president Daoud to
reduce links with the Soviet Union: to this end, in February 1978 he travelled
to Kuwait, Libya, Iran, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.[11] Consequently on 27th
April 1978, PDPA, a pro-soviet party, ceased power with military coup, and
killed president Daoud as well as most of his family members. Taraki from Khalq
faction and Babrak from Parcham faction became president and vice president of
the so called Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.[12]
After the killing of Taraki by his deputy Hafizullah Amin, it
intensified factional strives inside the PDPA as well as the uprising of Afghan
people against the regime and deteriorated the political- military situation.
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and killed Amin and put B.Karmal from the
parcham faction of PDPA in power. It is very clear that soviet military
intervention of December 1979 was planned independently of the Afghan
Government, particularly as Babrak Karmal was brought to take over Hafizullah
Amin. Planning was in advance; on the day, the total number of Soviet
intervening forces was over 85,000 men.[13]
Soviet
Intervention, Jihad and Mujahidin Government
Even
though the Afghans are not homogenous by ethnicity and its history is full of
clashes between ethnics, clans and tribes, whenever there is the question of
foreign invasion, they are all united in their opposition. As soon as Soviet
troops invaded Afghanistan in the 1980’s, the dispersed warfare resulted in
national resistance. During presidentSoviet aggression was strongly condemned by
all countries in the world, evidently except the Soviet Block. The US and
Western countries generously helped Afghan resistance. Pakistan as front line
also received tremendous military and financial aid from the US and the West,
mo. This era was the golden time for Pakistan to some extent, since it received
enormous aids, in total being “at least US$ 7.5 billion worth of direct US
economic and military assistance”, and an equal amount of assistance from Saudi
Arabia and other Gulf Arab states. Pakistan was furthermore able to “master the nuclear technology, modernise
its military, silence the Pashtunistan agitation and circumvent previous
domestic international pressure due its poor human right record and lack of
democracy, in exchange for cooperation in the anti-Soviet campaign in
Afghanistan.”[14]
On the other side, it had received open hand to interfere in Afghanistan and
invest on Afghan Jihadi Groups for the future.
After
ten years of war and destruction, Gorbachev, the Leader of the Soviet Union
decided to finish with the “bleeding wound” and withdraw Soviet forces from
Afghanistan. In fact, Russians were defeated and Afghan Mujahidin and their
alloys won the war. “On February 15, 1989, precisely
on schedule, the last Red Army units rolled across the Friendship
Bridge back to the USSR. General Boris Gromov, commanding
the Soviet 40th Army, paused so that he was the last
soldier in his column to leave”[15]. This war costs a lot both for the Soviet
Union and Afghanistan. Round 80% of the country side were destroyed and one
million Afghans lost their life, and 6 million fled the country according to
some estimates. The result of this unequal war was more terrifying for Soviet
Union: they not only lost 15,000 of their army men, had 40,000injured, (BBC) and lost billions of Robles, but their
country was disintegrated and joined the history.[16]
After soviet withdrawal, the Afghan regime under leadership of
president Najibullah was resistant against the internationally backed
Mujahidin. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Najibullah lost his last
foreign supporter (the Soviet Union) and struggles within the PDPA occurred
again, resulting in the weakening of the PDPA party. In Early 1992 he ordered
the replacement of some senior Tajik and Uzbek military officers in the
Northern Provinces with his loyal Pashtun officers. These officers, Including
Lt.General Dostum (uzbek), Major Genral mumin (Tajik) and Sayed
Mansoor NAdiri (Hazarah-Ismaili) joined rebellion and sought help from
Ahmad Shah Massoud; the commander of Mujahidin in Panjshir. Practically, the
PDPA including its leadership and Najibullah Government had been divided in
ethnical lines, while non Pashtunes were
supporting Massoud, Pashtuns were in
Hikmatyar line. Soon Dr Najibullah was disappointed from his reconciliation
with Mujahidin and peace plan through UN envoy, tried to leave the country and
go to India by using the UN Airplane. He stopped at Kabule airport check point
by his inter party- government opponents and finally sought refuge in Kabul Un
compound. On 24th April
Hikmatyar (Hezb-e- Islami) forces with the help Raz Mohammad
Paktin, interior minister and Aslam
Watanjar the Defence Minister
entered Kabul from the south . On
27th of April1992 Massoud and his alloy forces entered Kabul from
the north and, with fierce fighting, pushed Hikmatyar forces out of the city
and practically took the power in the capital of the country.
From
here on, as soon as the Mujahidin gained power, factional fighting began and
the Jihad turned into a civil war. There can be numerous reasons for that, but
the main reasons that ISA (Islamic State of Afghanistan) failed to bring peace
and security in the country includes;
-
Lack of objectives, program and experience for governing the
country by the Mujahedin.
-
Pakistani
interference and unwillingness to see the existence of an independent and
stable Afghanistan; “the ISI and the Jamaat-Islami were determined to
replace the ISA with the political system that would be dominated by hezb-islami
which had been the main beneficiary of Pakistan patronage in the previous
decade.” [17]
-
Ignorance
of the US and West: after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the
Cold war, the US and European countries which helped the Mujahidin in the war
against Soviet Union practically ignored or forgot about Afghanistan.
-
Ethnic
diversity in the country: although Jihadi parties were not established in
ethnical bases, most of them were dominated by a single ethnicity; for example
the majority of hesb-e-islami were Pashtuns, jamiyat-e islami
were Tajiks and Wahdat-e-Islami were Hazaras. Ahmad Rashid is
right when he proposes that; “It was a
devastating psychological blow because for the first time in 300 years the
Pashtuns had lost control of the capital. An internal civil war began almost
immediately as Hikmatyar attempted to rally the Pashtuns and laid siege to
Kabul, shilling it mercilessly.”[18]
During
the Mujahidin Government, the country was distributed among different Islamic
groups and warlords; the west of the country was controlled by Ismail Khan and
the north by Dustom. Even Kabul was divided in two parts; west and south Kabul
was controlled by Wahadt and the Hikmatyar alliance, and the north of Kabul was
under control of a so called central government. If during the soviet
invasion most the villages were destroyed, during Mujahidin power most of the cities including Kabul were ruined to
the ground. According to the ICRC, human rights violations “including executions, abduction, imprisonment, sexual violence and
other forms of torture” were committed by “all factions”. It was also estimated that 10,000 individuals were
killed in 1993.[19]
The rise
of The Taliban
Movements
and political parties usually develop over time, but the Taliban movement was
born overnight, being made by foreign hands. Stephen Tanner proposed that in
its creation and growth, “one can see the
gloved hand of Pakistan”[20]. Pakistan is a country which has always wished to
open roads to having direct commercial links with Central Asian countries. On
31 September 1994 when Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was in power, the
Pakistanis test-drived the rout from Islamabad to Ashgabat with forty –truck convoys.
The convoy was captured by local Afghan warlords, whereupon the Taliban fought
and defeated this group and secured the convoy. This was the first time
that we heard the name of this newly created group Taliban. Within three month they captured 12 provinces in the South
and replaced utter anarchy with strict Islamic Order. On September 26, 1996
when Massoud evacuated Kabul, Taliban forces took city over without any
resistance. The civilians expected that this mysterious and victorious group
would bring peace and stability to the city, but when they witnessed early next
morning the hanged bodies of Former president Najibullah and his brother, their
expectations became a mere mirage. Pakistan was the first country to recognise
the Taliban regime which was followed only by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirate. Accor ding to Ahmad Rashid, Pakistan not only supported and recognised
the Taliban regime, but paid salary to the Taliban official in Kabul as well.[21]
Who Are
the Taliban; Socio-Political and Ideological back ground
The Word
‘Taliban’ means the religious students. The Taliban as political
organization is an Islamic fanatic- extremist group which took control over
Kabul in and ruled until U.S.-led invasion in 2001.Taliban enforce strict Islamic practices, prohibited
women from attending school or working outside the home, they committed mass
murder, ethnic cleansing in non-Pashtun areas, destroying Afghanistan
historical cultural values including blowing up two large Buda Statues in
Bamyan province in March 2001. They having provided safe haven for
international terrorist organizations including al-Qaeda and its leader
bin-Laden.
Ahmad Rashid the well-known Pakistani
Journalist and writer defines Taliban in very comprehensive way: “These boys
were a world apart from the mujahidin whom I had got to know during the
1980s...They had no memories of their tribes, their elders, their neighbours or
the complex ethnic mix of people that often made up their villages and their
homeland.
They had
no memories of the past, no plans for the future while the present was
everything. .. They admired war because it was the only occupation they could
possibly adapt to. Untrained for anything, even the traditional occupations of
their forefathers such as farming, herding or the making of handicrafts; they
were what Karl Marx would have termed Afghanistan lumpen proletariat”[22]
These were the most common information about the
Taliban, but analytically; who they are?
It seems that many experts and actors in the
conflict of Afghanistan have different and conflicting interpretations of the
Taliban. Some view them as a real Mujahedeen, but for others they are
retrogressive, reactionary, fundamentalist, violent and anti-civilization. From
some perspectives, the Taliban is an American - English phenomenon. However,
for others, Taliban are Pakistani soldiers and mercenaries. For some the
Taliban is phenomenon of the Pashtun ethnicity. For the others, is a group led
by al Qaeda (an Afghani branch of al-Qaeda) as part of international terrorism.
Some think they are barefoot and deceived villagers from Afghan-Pakistani
tribal areas, but for some others they are a Pan Islamist and anti-modernism.
Let to
discuss some of their characteristics:
a- Taliban tribal and linguistic identities
One of the important and controversial issues
is the tribal, ethnic and linguistic identity of the Taliban and their
relations and interaction with Pashtuns. Although the Taliban has never
identified itself as a Pashtun group, the vast majority of its Leadership
Council, commanders and fighters (nearly 99%) are Pashtuns. Pashto was the only
official language of their documentations during the power and after their
fall. Choosing Kandahar as a head-quarter is another sign of the Taliban’s
tribal orientation. Of course there are conflicting views about the tribal and
linguistic identity of the Taliban, Some analysts and politicians of the West
are considering Taliban a Pashtun movement. The former America's special envoy
for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke is an advocate of this view,
saying: “almost every Pashtun family has
someone involved with the movement”[23]
A number of Western analysts
consider the Taliban originates from the Pashtun Ghiljay tribe which are
historical rivals of the Pashtun Durrani tribe. From this perspective, most of the Afghan
conflicts are evidence of inter-ethnic (tribal conflict) among the Pashtuns.
But the best advertiser and claimant of this idea is Pakistan.
Pakistan’s political message to the international community is that the
Pashtuns are isolated from power and Taliban are trying to revive it. Pashtun
political activists and their relationship with the Taliban is an important but
sensitive issue. During the rise and
rule of the Taliban regime, part of Pashtun political activists,
including former leftists and technocrats residing in the West, openly and
practicality supported the Taliban. Some of them, including some cabinet
ministers, governors, and military commanders in the current system still support them. But what undeniable
is the devastating effects on the Taliban in Pashtun areas; nearly 1,000
schools in these areas have been destroyed or closed., as well as hundreds of
clinics, bridges, and public utilities. Nearly 2,000 Influential Pashtun ethnic
or religious leaders have been killed by the Taliban. Respect for elders as
sacred space, the mosque, women, children, school, turbans and hospitality and
the many other positive aspects of Pashtunwaly
have been weakened by the Taliban.[24]
a- Ideological structure of the Taliban:
Taliban is an ideological movement
based on political-intelligence project, then to be a local political stream.
To understand this, we have to study them briefly in the context the last two centuries
of Islamic movement. Briefly, Political and ideological Islam has accelerated
with the arrival of European colonists in Islamic world. The slogan and
purposes of the Taliban regarding the withdrawal of foreign forces,
establishment of Islamic Emirate and strict implementation of Sharia laws are
the goals parallel to the ideas of contemporary Political Islamists rather than
to be Nationalistic.
Although the interpretation of the Taliban from
Islam is very rigid, tribalistic and unique, still we can say that the following groups have contributed in
varying degrees on the Taliban's ideological identity:
1)
Deobandi madrasas in Pakistan.
2) The emergence of political Islamic ideas in
Arabic countries especially the Muslim Brotherhood.
3) Political parties in Afghanistan during the
Cold War and Jihad against Soviet force.
4) Islamic Revolution in Iran;
5) Arrival and growth of Salafis and the al
Qaeda in Afghanistan.[25]
In contrast with other Islamic groups and
parties, the Taliban belongs to a special class in society. Most of their
leadership are Mullahs from madrassas (religious schools), mostly Pakistani
Madrasas. Taliban access to religious schools and mosques has reinforced their
trend and position. In other word, mosques are like their organising
headquarters. But the most prominent feature of the Taliban is their
totalitarian tendencies and behaviours; they have their own interpretation of
Islam and are not ready to reconcile with any other Islamic group or movement.
b- Taliban External and internal supporters:
External support of the Taliban should be
considered in two stages: First, with respect to the rise of the Taliban regime
and the second stage; after the fall of this group. No doubt, some Western
supporters of the Taliban in the first round have been indirectly, being
discontinued in the second stage. Foreign supporters of the Taliban in the
second stage include Pakistan, Al- Qaida, some intelligence circles and
charitable institutions in the Persian Gulf Arabic countries and to some extent
the Islamic Republic of Iran.
c- Financial Resources
Contrary to popular perception, Taliban
insurgents are not starving barefoot villagers in the tribal areas, but rather
the most high-income groups among the actors in the Afghanistan conflict.
Taliban funding includes several sources;
1) Firstly, the production and drug trafficking.
According to estimates, the Taliban earn around 500 million dollars from
narcotics per year, which is 17% of their overall income.[26]
1) The second source of funding is through
charitable donations by the sheikhs of the Persian Gulf states, where Arab,
Afghan and Pakistani supporters of the movement reside.
2) Thirdly, help from intelligence agencies
3) Fourthly, by way of direct Taliban bribery and
blackmail in economic terms; the Taliban are active in areas such as
construction companies, road construction, transportation, private security and
telecommunications
4) Fifthly, by way of taxes of agricultural products
5) Sixthly, by taking ransom from kidnappings and
hostage takings.
Taliban relation with al-Qaida
One of
the fundamental questions in Western
circles as well as Afghani intellectuals is the extent of relationship between
the Taliban and AL Qaeda,
Taliban and al-Qaida don’t have much different ideologies; the Taliban movement
was established with direct aid and influence of bin laden. According to Turki
al Faisal “Mullah Omar and his former friend, Bin Laden share the same
ideology and that ‘the evil in them is the same”[27]
The two groups fought together against the northern Alliance, and finally,
it was al-Qaida to assassinate Commander Massoud the main rival of the Taliban
on September 9, 2001 in Takhar province. Not just the Taliban, but all radical
movements of central and south Asia bear the same ideologies. In this respect,
we can say that the Taliban is just Afghani branch of al-Qaida.
War against Terrorism and removal of the
Taliban
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and end
of the Cold War, the West, particularly the United States, paid less
attention to the problems in Afghanistan. The policy of ignorance created a
disaster not just for Afghanistan, but for the world, especially the United
States itself. On September 11/2001, nineteen suicide bombers hijacked four
planes and targeted the WTC. These Arabs were surely connected to those groups
that from 1988 onward were trained and armed by western and American
Intelligence survives in Jihad against Soviet Union as holy warriors and
freedom fighters. The 9/11 changed the world politics and international
relations. US blamed al-Qaida organization led by Osama Bin Laden which based
in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and declared ‘war on terror”. G.w Bush the US
president in his speech after9/11 said ““The search is underway for those who
are behind these evil acts. We will make no distinction between the terrorists
who committed these acts and those who harbour them.”[28]
When The
Taliban refused to surrender Bin laden, American and their allies with Afghan
United Front (Northern Alliance) launched Operation Enduring Freedom. In a
short time without causalities and human losses (in American side) the Taliban
regime was rolled out, but most of its leadership crossed the border and found
safe haven in Pakistan. In December 2001 after Bon Conference under supervision
of UN the new Afghan interim government under the leadership of Hamid Karzai
was established and according to the Un Security Council Resolution, the International Security
assistance Forced (ISAF) led by NATO stationed in Afghanistan.
After ten years of fighting, loosing of
thousands of life and billions of dollars it seems that the security is
deteriorating by every passing year, there is no significant change in economic
life of the people, the Taliban and other insurgents groups are stronger than
before.
By the
2011there were130, 386 international forces present in Afghanistan[29]
According
to the report of CSIS (centre for statistics and international studies) the
total cost of Afghan war is over $527 billion through from 2001 to 2012 in
addition of $73 billion as aid to Afghanistan. This war cost the American and
allies 2700 dead and 18000 people injured.[30]
At the same time Afghan Armed forces from 2004 up to 2011 grown up from 100
thousand to 300 thousand. Despite the presence of these forces, still the
security situation is getting worse. The
main reason for this failure is the luck of strategy against insurgencies,
reconstruction and nation building in Afghanistan. The other reasons are:
-
It is after 10 years
it is clear that the present Afghan government doesn’t have the ability to
manage the fight against insurgencies and on the other hand, it has failed in reconstruction
and development of the country.
-
Lack of coordination
among NATO forces among their self and between NATO and afghan forces.
-
There was no clear
definition of friend and foe.
Afghan
Government and Hamid Karzai Sometimes called the Taliban Terrorist and
associate with al-Qaida, sometimes deceived brothers, sometimes Murderers and
enemies of the Afghan people and sometimes noble sons of Afghan nation.
-
American Fugue policy toward Taliban: US policy
toward the Taliban also never been clear. During the rise of the Taliban and
during their rule the US neglected or ignored the cruel anti-human and barbaric
action of the Taliban. US in some way encouraged their alloys like Pakistan
Saudi Arabia to make full recognition of the Taliban regime.US official opened
the door of talk and dialogue with Taliban as well. After 9/11 US declared war
against al-Qaida and Taliban and removed them from power. Now ten years after
fighting against Taliban, recently Joe Boyden the voice president of the USA is
saying that the Taliban are their enemy.[31]
It shows
obvious contradiction on their action in the past and their behaviour at
present.
Taliban
and Western hegemony: if we define western hegemony as military and
technological superiority of the west neither Radical Islam nor the Taliban can
be considered a threat to the west. But if we consider the western hegemony as
western culture and values like democracy, Human rights and the fact that the
western democracies are responsible for international security and world order,
in this case the Taliban and Militant Islam is a threat for Islamic countries
and the whole world.
Conclusion
In this essay, we tried to present some
information about Islam as a religion of peace and coexistence, and thereafter
sought to reveal the difference between traditional moderate Islam and radical
and militant Islam. We briefly examined the history of Afghanistan and its
internal problems, as well as its disputes with Pakistan; its neighbouring
country. We also discussed the Taliban in some detail, examining their
political and ideological background, their links to other radical Islamic
organizations and terrorist circles, and their actions and policies when they
ruled over Afghanistan. It would be fair to conclude that the Taliban are one
of the most radical and fanatic Islamic groups, and a major part of the
international terrorist organization. It is submitted that despite the fact
that the Taliban are mostly active in the Pashtun southern parts of Afghanistan
and are mostly their members and leadership are Pashtuns, they still should not
be considered the legitimate representatives of the Pashtun ethnicity in general.
They are just the Afghani branch of Al-Qaida, and a serious threat for peace
and stability in Afghanistan as well as for the nearby region and the global
community as a whole. They are not just a treat to the west and western values
but they are a serious threat to the moderate Islam and Islamic civilization.
To this end, there is only one single way out:
The Taliban should be defeated politically and militarily. Of course, defeating
the Taliban and winning the war against terrorism is not an easy task, but it
is possible. The experience of ten years of war against insurgencies shows that
just military operations are not enough to win this war. To win the war, one
should win the heart and mind of the people, and the Taliban safe havens outside
the country should be dismantled. But unfortunately, Americans and their allies
had done very little in this regard. After ten years there are little signs of
improvement in good governance, solid institutions and economic progress in
Afghanistan. It goes without saying that these goals are unattainable by the
weak and corrupt government of Afghanistan. The present government of
Afghanistan is more client and beggar rather to be partner to the international
community.
It has recently been suggested that the
international forces shall leave Afghanistan by 2014. If they leave the country
without stabilizing it, this could lead to a new inter-ethnic conflict, civil
war and destruction. This means Afghanistan will become once again a safe haven
for Islamic militant and international terrorist organizations, which may well
result in even more dramatic events with immense damaging impact on
international peace and security.
As a
final word, one can warn that the United States and NATO ought to learn from
the Soviet Union experience and destiny.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books;
·
Ahmad Shayeq Qassem:
Afghanistan’s Political Stability, Ashgate Publishing Company, 2009
·
Ahmed Rashid: Taliban: The
Story of the Afghan Warlords, Pan Macmillan, 2001
·
John Baylis, Steve Smith
& Patricia Owens: The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to
International Relations, Fifth edition, Oxford University Press, 2011
·
Sayed Zia Sais: Who is
Winning the War in Afghanistan?, Xlibris Corportation, 2001
·
Stephen Tanner; Afghanistan:
A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War against the Taliban,
Revised edition, Da Capo Press, 2009
·
John Cooley: Unholy Wars:
Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism, third edition, Pluto Press,
2002
·
G.M.Ghubar, Afghanistan
·
Peter
Marsden: Afghanistan Aid, Armies and
Empires, I B Tauris & Co Ltd, 2009
·
K.H. Bashir Ahmad Ansari: Afghanistan Dar Atashi Naft,
Maiwand Press Kabul, 2003
·
Gretchen Peters: Seeds
of Terror: How Heroin is Bankrolling the Taliban and Al Qaeda, St. Martin’s Press, 2009
·
Mir Mohammad Seddigh Farhang: Afghanistan In the Last
Five Century, Derakhesh Publication, 1992
·
Amir Saikal: Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle
and Survival, I.B. Tauris, 2006
Journals
·
Jesse Jackson, The Cost of War: Afghan Experiences of
Conflict, 1978-2009, Oxfam International (available in PDF: http://www.oxfam.org)
Websites
As accessed on 09/01/2012
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