The Taliban: Back and Badder than Ever

Front paged at Booman Tribune

So much for yet another flat out lie told by Cheney with respect to Afghanistan and the Taliban. Remember this statement he made just three days ago:

I mean, take Afghanistan. Afghanistan was governed by the Taliban, one of the worst regimes in modern times, terribly dictatorial, terribly discriminatory towards women. There were training camps in Afghanistan training thousands of al-Qaeda terrorists. All of those training camps today are shut down. The Taliban are no longer in power. There's a democratically elected president, a democratically elected parliament and a new constitution and American-trained Afghan security forces and NATO now actively in the fight against the remnants of the Taliban. We are much better off today because Afghanistan is not the safe haven for terror that it was on 9/11.

Remnants of the Taliban? Um, no, Dick - sorry. Because that "cut and run" strategy from Afghanistan has now led to a Taliban resurgence which is making them stronger and more dangerous.

Even Bush's newest bestest friend, Bin Laden loving Pakistani President Musharraf has indicated recently that the Taliban has adopted Al-Qaeda tactics and is more dangerous to the region than Al Qaeda.

We have already heard how the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan has led to renewed restrictions on women's freedoms. And we are hearing of renewed violence, increases in suicide bombings, an influx of NATO troops fighting along southern Afghanistan, assassinations of officials and other "cheery" news:

Figures tabulated by CAPS (Conflict and Peace Studies) indicate a recent 60 percent increase in attacks across Afghanistan, from 85 in July to 136 in August. Police have borne the brunt, with deaths jumping more than fourfold in that period. Civilian deaths have tripled, with 92 losing their lives in August.

Yeah, Dick - I wonder what Karzai and Musharraf would say about the US and its efforts in Afghanistan. I'm sure they are just thrilled with the fact that you and Bush decided to let Bin Laden escape, take most of our forces out of the country and let the Taliban come back into power.

Well, we do know what Musharraf would say:

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, speaking in Brussels Tuesday, said the Taliban now pose a greater danger than Al Qaeda. "The center of gravity of terrorism has shifted from al Qaeda to the Taliban," he told European lawmakers."

"This is a new element, a more dangerous element, because it [the Taliban] has its roots in the people. Al Qaeda didn't have roots in the people," he said.

The CSM article linked above centers around a discussion with a Taliban militant who is discussing their tactics and their resurgence in Afghanistan. And while it should be taken with a grain of salt, there are some facts that can't be ignored which would lend a level of credence to his points. Certainly moreso than that smirking idiot who occupies the White House, or the lying criminal of a Vice President who may very well be the most evil lying scum on the face of this earth.

And when we hear how things are going so well in Iraq and how we are turning another corner, fighting terrorism, not being caught in the middle of a civil war and not able to defeat the insurgency in the Anbar province, there is this quote that shows just how much the illegal and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq is spreading freedom:

He (the Taliban fighter) speaks a warning, of how the "new" Taliban has become more radical, more sophisticated, and more brutal than the Taliban ousted by US-led forces in 2001 - and of how its jihadist agenda now mirrors that of Al Qaeda, stretching far beyond Afghanistan.

Among the keys to the Taliban resurgence - which is sparking lethal violence on a scale unknown here for almost five years - are crucial lessons drawn from Iraq.

"That's part of our strategy - we are trying to bring [the Iraqi model] to Afghanistan," says the fighter. "Things will get worse here."

Those "things" include suicide attacks, assassinations of government officials, moderate clerics, and civilians, along with guerrilla tactics now in use against Western forces in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, where NATO claims to have killed more than 500 insurgents in 10 days of intense fighting.

Well, even if he is exaggerating, things certainly have been getting worse in Afghanistan. And I don't think that the large and ever growing percentage of us who have been questioning and challenging the FUBAR situation in Iraq is helping the terrorist cause. Methinks that it is probably more of the torture, rendition, use of chemical weapons, illegal occupation as well as the arrogance of the neocon war criminals.

But who am I - just a crazy lib'rul who must hate America?

The thing is - it isn't just this Taliban militant or Musharraf who are saying these things about the Taliban. According to Waheed Mozhdah, a Taliban-era Foreign Affairs Ministry official, and author on the Taliban:

"The world is small now, and just as McDonald's is being globalized ... so can violence be transmitted from one place to another," says.

"The tactics have been imported from Iraq: suicide bombers, remote-controlled roadside bombs," says Mr. Mozhdah. "These things we didn't have in the [past] jihad, and they have been very effective...."

---snip---

Another factor chills many Afghans. "[The Taliban] have become more violent. They slaughter people, beheading them, and this didn't exist before," says Mozhdah. "They used to regard video cameras as haram [forbidden by religion], but now they use these videos as a tool. It shows how Al Qaeda has affected the Taliban."

Nice job--cutting and running from Afghanistan to invade another country based on lies. Which led to a situation in Afghanistan that is worse than it was before 2001. And a situation in Iraq that is so bad that it can't even be described. With the added bonus of the Taliban, who used to ban the use of video cameras, now using videos to instill fear. Just like in Iraq.

And let me guess - nobody could have anticipated that the Taliban would make a resurgence and learn from the violent tactics used in Iraq.