Twenty Years of the Afghan War: But Not 20 Years, 13 of the 20 Years the Administration Gave to the Iraq War, Five of The Remaining Seven Years Were Spent on the Syrian War, Leaving the Afghan War Barely Two Years, The Taliban had Focused on the War for 20 Years

Twenty Years of the Afghan War: But Not 20 Years, 13 of the 20 Years the Administration Gave to the Iraq War, Five of The Remaining Seven Years Were Spent on the Syrian War, Leaving the Afghan War Barely Two Years, The Taliban had Focused on the War for 20 Years

Mujeeb Khan

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar [in center] will be a deputy head of the new Taliban government

                 

Afghan women protest, demanding equal rights under the Taliban government

 

  The Taliban are now in power. The Emirate Islami Afghanistan is in the neighborhood of Iran. In almost 58 years, the effects of the Islamic Revolution in Iran has not been seen anywhere in the region. Iran’s Islamic Revolution was only within its borders. But there was a negative propaganda campaign about the Islamic Revolution of Iran in the western media was used to intimidate the Arab rulers, even though jihad was being waged against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan at that time. The Islamic Revolution in Iran and the Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan were given special coverage in the media. It was called the Islamic Revivalism from Morocco to Indonesia. In Islamic countries, the spirit of jihad was being instilled in the youth, but despite all this, Iran did not exploit the situation to its advantage. They kept the Islamic Revolution within their borders. If Iran supports Hamas and Hezbollah, what is wrong with that? It is the Israeli government’s definition to support those who fight for freedom and rights as terrorists. The United States also falls into this definition, which is supporting such elements in almost every region of the world. The Islamic government of Iran had very good relations with Christian countries in Latin America and Africa. In the most difficult times in Venezuela and Cuba, Iran helped these countries, and in the same way, Iran helped Hamas and Hezbollah.

  The United States did not take the responsibility for the spread of jihadists in the world, but the credit for bringing down the Soviet Empire through jihadists was taken by the United States. And when the Soviet Empire fell, the United States left behind Afghans, Arab jihadists, weapons, landmines. Many of them were Arabs, some jihadists joined the battle of Bosnia, some jihadists had joined Hamas in the fight against Israel in Palestine. Some jihadists had gone to jihad against India in occupied Kashmir. The Bush administration opened the Iraqi front for jihadists believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. They joined the Iraqis in liberating Iraq from US military occupation. Interestingly, the jihadists who were fighting the US forces in Iraq were said to be aided by Iran. The jihadists who were fighting against Israel in occupied Palestine were blamed by Saddam Hussein for paying them. the Afghan Taliban were only fighting foreign forces on their borders, or the Afghan Taliban were in Guantanamo Bay and in the Bagram camp. The Afghan Taliban did not attack the interests of NATO countries around the world. Then how was this war with the Taliban for 20 years? The Bush administration said the reason for invading Afghanistan was that Mullah Omar had refused to hand over Osama bin Laden to the United States, and that reason was a lie. The truth was that Mullah Omar, through the diplomatic efforts of Pakistan and some other Islamic countries, was ready to hand over bin Laden to a third country, but instead of responding peacefully to the diplomatic efforts of these countries, the Bush administration invaded Afghanistan with full force. But just three years ago, when the Sudanese government informed the Clinton administration of Osama bin Laden’s presence in Sudan, instead of arresting him, the Sudanese government was asked to expel bin Laden from Sudan. The world is now being affected by these decisions of the administration.

  How will the 20-years US war in Afghanistan be viewed in history? Twenty years later, the US-designated democratic political government in Kabul was overthrown and the Taliban thwarted the US on the military front. Those who have been in government in Kabul for almost 20 years has been metropolitan urbanites. And those who had a war with the United States were rural backward and extremely rigid religious. In The 1980s, the CIA’s Leaflet drove them out of the countryside and into the cities to wage urban warfare against Soviet forces, and they were told the Communists were destroying their mosques and religion in Afghanistan. The Metropolitan urbanites did not fight the Soviet forces and left Afghanistan. This time, The United States formed an alliance with the Metropolitan urbanites against the Taliban of rural areas and the United States lost the war with the Taliban, and the metropolitan urbanites left to the United States. And they did not fight the Taliban.

  The problem in Afghanistan now is peace and stability. When there is peace and stability in Afghanistan, then there will be an opportunity for economic activity to move forward. The Taliban have begun a process of reconciliation and political action, they have given up the adventure of suffocating Afghans. Afghan society, which has been divided for years, now needs to be united. The solution to political differences is in the political process. When everyone comes into a political process, the process of change will also move forward. People will continue to reject reactionary hardline religious elements. Modernist, liberal, progressive ideas will come forward. In the last 20 years, the Taliban movement has changed to include some modernists. Who supports women’s rights, supports freedom of the press and the media, respects the beliefs of different religious sects.?

  It has taken the Taliban twenty years to reach this point, but they did not give up. But in twenty years in Kabul what were called political governments, were incapable of advancing and stabilizing the political process. The result was that the whole so-called political system disappeared like sand in a whirlwind. Afghan tribal society was a laboratory for a democratic political system, this experiment has failed, but not completely. This time the Taliban have come up with new political thinking. Non-Taliban Afghan who really believe in political freedom, they should drop their weapons and entered the political process. And mobilize public politics. In twenty years or maybe early, they can defeat the Taliban.