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سيف الله
11-02-2017, 09:38 PM
Salaam

Another update on the situation in Afghanistan

Rare interviews with militants shine light on resilient movement that resisted both Obama’s surge and now Trump’s ‘killing terrorists’ strategy

Squatting on the floor, a brown shawl draped over his shoulders, the Taliban commander and his bodyguard swiped on their phones through attack footage edited to look like video games, with computerised crosshairs hovering over targets. “Allahu Akbar,” they said every time a government Humvee hit a landmine.

Mullah Abdul Saeed, who met the Guardian in the barren backcountry of Logar province where he leads 150 Taliban militants, has fought foreign soldiers and their Afghan allies since the US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan when he was 14. The Taliban now controls its largest territory since being forced from power, and seems to have no shortage of recruits.

By prolonging and expanding its military presence in Afghanistan, the US aims to coerce the Taliban to lay down arms, but risks hardening insurgents who have always demanded withdrawal of foreign troops before peace talks.

In interviews with rank-and-file Taliban fighters in Logar and another of Afghanistan’s embattled provinces, Wardak, the Guardian found a fragmented but resilient movement, united in resistance against foreign intervention.

Referring to Barack Obama’s surge, Saeed said: “150,000 Americans couldn’t beat us.” And an extra 4,000 US soldiers, as Donald Trump will deploy, “will not change the morale of our mujahideen,” he said. “The Americans were walking in our villages, and we pushed them out.” For the Taliban to consider peace, he said, “foreigners must leave, and the constitution must be changed to sharia.”

Active Taliban footsoldiers rarely agree to meet western reporters. Men such as Saeed, who spoke without leadership permission, provide valuable insight into a movement that after 16 years in armed opposition remains largely an enigma.

Arriving on a motorbike kicking up dust, Saeed and his Kalashnikov-carrying bodyguard, Yamin, were aloof at first but warmed as the conversation evolved. Saeed said that as the war has changed, the Taliban have adjusted, too. US soldiers now predominantly train Afghans, and have ramped up airstrikes.

“It’s true, it has become harder to fight the Americans. But we use suicide bombers, and we will use more of them,” Saeed said. “If the US changes its tactics of fighting, so do we.” That change has meant ever-fiercer attacks, with large truck bombs in populated areas and audacious assaults on military bases.

In April, Taliban fighters in army uniforms stormed a northern army academy and killed at least 150 soldiers in the biggest assault on the army of the entire war. This month, suicide bombers wiped out a whole army unit, ramming two Humvees packed with explosives into a base in Kandahar.

As Saeed spoke, three young boys from the civilian family at the house where the interview took place brought tea. They giggled as they listened in on the fighters’ radio. Saeed spoke with a calm, professorial demeanour but his words brimmed with the anger of a man who has spent his adult life fighting a generation-long war, and lost 12 family members doing it.

Pressed on the record-high number of civilian deaths in the war, he said the Taliban “make mistakes” and try to avoid harming civilians, but added: “If there is an infidel in a flock of sheep, you are permitted to attack that flock of sheep.”

The Taliban was always outnumbered and technologically outmatched by its foreign adversaries, but is arguably at its strongest since 2001, threatening several provincial capitals. The movement, though, is divided, with some lower-ranking commanders backing rivals of the current chief, Mawlawi Haibatullah, or more radical outfits such as Islamic State. But rifts have not stopped the group from advancing.

Saeed claimed: “10-15 people join the mujahideen [in Logar] every day, sometimes also policemen,” adding that mistreatment by government and foreign forces helps recruitment.

“Many Taliban become suicide bombers after prison. Why?” he asked, describing how prison guards torture detainees by applying air pressure, beatings or electric shock to their genitals. After a detainee is released, he said, the shame is too much to bear. Such claims of government torture have been documented by the UN.

While few in the international community think the war can be won militarily, the US shows little intention of reviving the dormant peace process. “We are not nation-building again. We are killing terrorists,” Trump said when announcing his south Asia strategy. “In the end we will win.” Crucially, Trump has not established criteria for when US troops will be pulled home.

In a separate interview in the beleaguered Wardak province, Omari, 23, who has six years’ frontline experience, told the Guardian he had considered leaving the insurgency and taking his family to Kabul. “But if the Americans come back to Wardak, I will fight them,” he said. Omari was less cavalier than Saeed about civilian casualties, which he said damaged the Taliban’s standing with ordinary Afghans, who have become more reluctant to shelter them.

Yet, the two militants did agree on one thing: American soft power is as dangerous as uniformed soldiers, especially as US troops have dwindled in numbers. That belief materialised last year when militants, in a stunningly grisly attack, stormed the American University in Kabul, killing 16 students and staff members. In the capital, many regard the university as one of the pinnacles of post-Taliban Afghanistan.

Though no group claimed responsibility for the attack, Saeed and Omari agreed the university posed a threat. “We should kill those teachers who change the minds of society,” Saeed said.

Currently, the Taliban seem capable of upholding a slow-burning war, with the help of outside benefactors. After recent US pressure on Pakistan to crack down on militant sanctuaries, some Taliban fighters consider opting for another regional neighbour, Omari said: “Many Taliban want to leave Pakistan for Iran. They don’t trust Pakistan anymore.”

Pakistan denies harbouring militants, but Saeed admitted receiving assistance from Pakistan, though he denied being under anyone’s thumb. “Having relations is one thing, taking orders is something else,” he said. “Every party, if they want to be stronger, need to talk to other countries. We should talk to Iran, and we should talk to Pakistan. Just like the Afghan government goes to India and China.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/31/150000-americans-couldnt-beat-us-taliban-fighters-defiant-in-afghanistan

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syphax
11-03-2017, 10:15 AM
I truly sympathy with Afghans but I don't believe Taliban is the answer to the problem ( suicide bomber)
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سيف الله
02-25-2018, 11:40 PM
Salaam

They are resisting the occupier but I agree with doing wrong is wrong regardless. It might be a forlorn hope but I hope the Afghans can find a solution to their problems with minimal outside interference (regional actors etc). The sooner the Americans leave the better.

Just a reminder of what it has been like.

I posted the short version a couple of years back, heres the full version.

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Misbah-Abd
02-26-2018, 12:49 AM
May Allah Azza wa Jal give the Muslims in Afghanistan victory. Ameen.
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سيف الله
07-21-2018, 08:44 AM
Salaam

Another update

Afghanistan: Sending More Troops Adds Insult to Blood & Misery

It is not about humanitarian aid or helping the Afghan people but about political and strategic control of this very important area

The announcement that the British government is to send 400 plus troops to Afghanistan – bringing British troops there to over 1000 – gives the lie to the idea that the end of the war is in sight. The reverse is true. Islamic State has grown, the Taliban control large parts of the country and there is no security for the ordinary people of Kabul.

There is never any explanation why this happens, because to try to do so would be to admit that the war launched by George Bush and Tony Blair nearly two decades ago has been an abject failure. The war on terror has not ended terrorism but has greatly increased it in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

We were told this war ended more than 16 years ago. Since then countless lives have been lost and Afghans live in a war torn and dangerous country. Sending more troops is only compounding the problems.

Theresa May has done this to please Trump. He is demanding greater military commitment and their ‘special relationship’ means that she is determined to agree. The consequences for British people are more spending on the military, and the risk to British troops sent to fight in this wasteful and unnecessary war.

It is not about humanitarian aid or helping the Afghan people but about political and strategic control of this very important area.

The US under Obama said they would withdraw troops, but reversed their decision, and there are now 16,000 US troops there. They do not need this additional number of British troops except for political reasons. We should refuse to accept this right-wing bidding war which is ruining so many lives. Time to get all the troops out.

http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/...o-blood-misery

They always seem to 'forget' the kind of reception they receive from the natives.

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سيف الله
07-21-2018, 10:03 AM
Salaam

This is unusual, like to share

Blurb

Injured in 1980 while fighting the Afghan Mujahideen, Bakhretdin Khakimov has long been presumed dead. However, 33 years later, the former Soviet intelligence officer was discovered alive and well in Herat under the new name Sheikh Abdullah, having married an Afghan woman and converted to Islam.



Blurb

“First tell us what you did in Afghanistan all those years. Then we'll decide whether or not we can shake hands,” said Gennady-Nikmamat's fellow soldiers after he had been assumed to be a traitor and disappeared for 29 years. This is the unique story of Gennady-Nikmamat, a former Soviet soldier who was captured by the Mujahideen during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. He was presumed a turncoat, which carried a criminal penalty if he ever returned to his homeland. Thus he had no choice but to stay in Afghanistan and adopt a Muslim way of life. Gennady-Nikmamat married an Afghan woman, had four children with her and has lived a full life, but he never abandoned the dream of returning home. After finally coming back to Ukraine to see his relatives and visit his parents' graves for the first time, he still can't decide whether it was better that he survived or if he should have ended up just another unknown soldier lost in the turmoil of war.


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سيف الله
07-29-2018, 10:25 PM
Salaam

Another update

Afghans march hundreds of kilometres for peace

It started as a group of nine men. Now dozens have joined and are walking 700km - from Helmand to Kabul - while fasting to call for an end to decades of devastating war and violence.


It started as a group of nine Afghan men who set out from Helmand to Kabul to raise their demand, "no more war".

Now dozens have joined and are walking the 700km, while fasting, to call for an end to decades of devastating war and violence.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/06/afghans-march-hundreds-kilometres-peace-180611154253770.html

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سيف الله
08-02-2018, 10:06 AM
Salaam

A chance of a negotiated settlement?

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سيف الله
08-04-2018, 08:15 PM
Salaam

Another update, what a surprise.

Qatar, UAE to join US war in Afghanistan


Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are to join the longest conflict in US history, by supporting the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan.

Abu Dhabi and Doha will be part of a multi-nation fight codenamed “Operation Resolute Support”, according to the Washington Post. Both Gulf countries will focus on training and advising Afghan forces. Official numbers on how many troops will be deployed has not been disclosed but the military inclusion is set to be approved next week during NATO’s ministerial meeting in Brussels.

Both Qatar and the UAE are rivals in the Gulf region, where Doha remains to endure an air, land and sea blockade over allegations of supporting terrorism and extremism. To add, President Donald Trump backed the allegations against Qatar last year. But Qatar continues to categorically deny the claims, and has since turned the tables by proving to the US that it is committed to combating terrorism. Trump has since repeatedly urged Gulf states to end the rift.

Qatar has been vying to become a full-member of NATO to boost its security outlook but was rejected on the basis that only European countries could qualify, according to the Washington Treaty. Whether this was a major set back for which Doha is looking to prove worthiness in Afghanistan is unclear.

The conflict in Afghanistan began in 2001, it saw the US lead 40 other countries to fight Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and associated forces who they said were responsible for the armed attack on the World Trade Centre in New York. Qatar’s cargo planes previously provided resupply missions to nations fighting in Afghanistan.

Qatar played a “major role” in the Afghan conflict by opening a Taliban office in Doha, in a bid to broker a peace deal with the US. Despite the Taliban praising Qatar last year on their efforts to bring peace in Afghanistan, relations may soar with Qatar’s deployment in Afghanistan.

Leaked emails from Emirati Ambassador to the US Yousef Al-Otaibi showed that the UAE was vying to open an office for the Taliban in its territories, however the group which governed Afghanistan setup a base in Qatar instead. UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed was “angry” following the announcement.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180709-qatar-uae-to-join-us-war-in-afghanistan/
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سيف الله
08-13-2018, 08:18 PM
Salaam

Why the reconstruction of Afghanistan failed.

Blurb

The US war in Afghanistan has raged for 16 years, since the US invaded after 9/11, in 2001. At the onset, a centerpiece of US strategy was to rebuild Afghanistan's crumbling infrastructure. This move expedited military logistics and maneuvers, while simultaneously reigniting travel between Afghanistan's major cities. But when the US started its war in Iraq, that diverted resources and manpower from the battlefield of Afghanistan. And the Taliban didn't miss the chance. To date, the most ambitious roadbuilding project, known as the Ring Road, has seen over $3 billion spent on its renewal. And it was never completed.

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سيف الله
08-21-2018, 09:10 PM
Salaam

Another update, another perspective.

Afghanistan: The War That Shames America

After 17 bloody years, the longest war in US history continues without relent or purpose in Afghanistan.

There, a valiant, fiercely-independent people, the Pashtun (Pathan) mountain tribes, have battled the full might of the US Empire to a stalemate that has so far cost American taxpayers $4 trillion, and 2,371 dead and 20,320 wounded soldiers. No one knows how many Afghans have died. The number is kept secret.


Pashtun tribesmen in the Taliban alliance and their allies are fighting to oust all foreign troops from Afghanistan and evict the western-imposed and backed puppet regime in Kabul that pretends to be the nation’s legitimate government. Withdraw foreign troops and the Kabul regime would last for only days.

The whole thing smells of the Vietnam War. Lessons so painfully learned by America in that conflict have been completely forgotten and the same mistakes repeated. The lies and happy talk from politicians, generals and media continue apace.

This week, Taliban forces occupied the important strategic city of Ghazni on the road from Peshawar to Kabul. It took three days and massive air attacks by US B-1 heavy bombers, Apache helicopter gun ships, A-10 ground attack aircraft, and massed warplanes from US bases in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar and the 5th US Fleet to finally drive back the Taliban assault. Taliban also overran key military targets in Kabul and the countryside, killing hundreds of government troops in a sort of Afghan Tet offensive.

Afghan regime police and army units put up feeble resistance or ran away. Parts of Ghazni were left in ruins. It was a huge embarrassment to the US imperial generals and their Afghan satraps who had claimed ‘the corner in Afghanistan has finally been turned.’

Efforts by the Trump administration to bomb Taliban into submission have clearly failed. US commanders fear using American ground troops in battle lest they suffer serious casualties. Meanwhile, the US is running low on bombs.

Roads are now so dangerous for the occupiers that most movement must be by air. Taliban is estimated to permanently control almost 50% of Afghanistan. That number would rise to 100% were it not for omnipresent US air power. Taliban rules the night.

Taliban are not and never were ‘terrorists’ as Washington’s war propaganda falsely claimed. I was there at the creation of the movement – a group of Afghan religious students armed by Pakistan whose goal was to stop post-civil war banditry, the mass rape of women, and to fight the Afghan Communists. When Taliban gained power, it eliminated 95% of the rampant Afghanistan opium-heroin trade. After the US invaded, allied to the old Afghan Communists and northern Tajik tribes, opium-heroin production soared to record levels. Today, US-occupied Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium, morphine and heroin.

US occupation authorities claim drug production is run by Taliban. This is another big lie. The Afghan warlords who support the regime of President Ashraf Ghani entirely control the production and export of drugs. The army and secret police get a big cut. How else would trucks packed with drugs get across the border into Pakistan and Central Asia?

The United States has inadvertently become one of the world’s leading drug dealers. This is one of the most shameful legacies of the Afghan War. But just one. Watching the world’s greatest power bomb and ravage little Afghanistan, a nation so poor that some of its people can’t afford sandals, is a huge dishonor for Americans.

Even so, the Pashtun defeated the invading armies of Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, the Mogul Emperors and the mighty British Raj. The US looks to be next in the Graveyard of Empires.

Nobody in Washington can enunciate a good reason for continuing the colonial war in Afghanistan. One hears talk of minerals, women’s rights and democracy as a pretext for keeping US forces in Afghanistan. All nonsense. A possible real reason is to deny influence over Afghanistan, though the Chinese are too smart to grab this poisoned cup. They have more than enough with their rebellious Uighur Muslims.

Interestingly, the so-called ‘terrorist training camps’ supposedly found in Afghanistan in 2001 were actually guerilla training camps run by Pakistani intelligence to train Kashmiri rebels and CIA-run camps for exiled Uighur fighters from China.

The canard that the US had to invade Afghanistan to get at Osama bin Laden, alleged author of the 9/11 attacks, is untrue. The attacks were made by Saudis and mounted from Hamburg and Madrid, not Afghanistan. I’m not even sure bin Laden was behind the attacks.

My late friend and journalist Arnaud de Borchgrave shared my doubts and insisted that the Taliban leader Mullah Omar offered to turn bin Laden over to a court in a Muslim nation to prove his guilt or innocence.

President George Bush, caught sleeping on guard duty and humiliated, had to find an easy target for revenge – and that was Afghanistan.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/israels-intention-to-annex-the-west-bank-revealed/5651305?platform=hootsuite
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سيف الله
08-31-2018, 07:16 PM
Salaam

Like to share

Blurb


India has sought to establish its presence in Afghanistan from the early days of its independence from Britain in 1947. In 1950, Afghanistan and India signed a "Friendship Treaty." India had robust ties with Afghan King Zahir Shah’s regime. Prior to the Soviet invasion in 1979, New Delhi continued to formalized agreements and protocols with various pro-Soviet regimes in Kabul. But what are India's strategic political and economic interests there? In this video, we will look at India's interests in Afghanistan.

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Abz2000
08-31-2018, 07:36 PM
It is not a Muslim's nature to be defiant, rather an intelligent and obedient Muslim's actions and objectives are defined by humility and obedience to Allah :swt: with clear thought of what is best in Allah :swt: 's sight.

I believe that the tualibaan (if they are knowledgeably striving for Allah's sake) would never refer to themselves as defiant, and neither would Allah :swt: - rather they would define themselves as those who strive to uphold justice for Allah's sake.
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سيف الله
09-11-2018, 10:53 PM
Salaam

Another update





CAGE adds key evidence of 17 years of human rights violations since 9/11 – and the US threatens the ICC for seeking accountability

CAGE as well as survivors of US war crimes in Afghanistan are involved in an unprecedented case against the US administration at the International Criminal Court, which has resulted in the US facing accusations of war crimes in Afghanistan.

CAGE outreach director Moazzam Begg and several other survivors of US abuse in the ‘Salt Pit’, the ‘Dark Prison’, Kandahar and Bagram have brought evidence forward attesting to the way in which the US administration, under the guise of bringing those responsible for the 9/11 attacks to justice, has arrested, tortured and held without trial or charge hundreds if not thousands of innocent people.

Despite this evidence, the US is adopting an attitude of denial and belligerence, threatening to arrest members of the ICC and calling it a “dying” organisation. This demonstrates clearly the US’s rejection of any semblance of international justice, in favour of protecting its military industrial complex and its geopolitical interests at the expense of ensuring a global standard of accountability and ethics.

Moazzam Begg, outreach director for CAGE, said:


“The case we have lodged with the ICC is unprecedented and it comes at a crucial time, where the words ‘national security’ and ‘terrorism’ are useful labels used to silence dissent and muzzle those that seek justice. We urge the ICC to stand up to these threats by the United States and continue to call them out for what they are: a threat to international stability.”

“It is quite extraordinary and telling that the US has threatened to prosecute and place sanctions against ICC officials and anyone aiding them in seeking accountability for US involvement in war crimes in Afghanistan. The Taliban and Afghan Army who are also being investigated have made not made any such threats.”

“Thousands were killed in the 9/11 attacks, but in the wake of this terrible event, the US has caused the death of over 1 million people, mostly Muslims, directly or indirectly in its war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The time has come to put a stop to this war machine, so that justice and accountability can be restored.”

https://www.cage.ngo/cage-adds-key-evidence-of-17-years-of-human-rights-violations-since-9-11-and-the-us-threatens-the-icc-for-seeking-accountability
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سيف الله
10-03-2018, 07:57 AM
Salaam

More comment

Blurb

The US war in Afghanistan just keeps going on and on. We ignore it. This video puts the disaster in context by comparing it to Soviet and British attempts to control the same country.

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سيف الله
10-10-2018, 12:23 AM
Salaam

Another update

Tragically, Stop the War Has Been Proved Right About Afghanistan. Our Leaders Still Won’t Listen.

Seventeen years on, Stop the War's grimmest warnings have proved to be understatement writes Chris Nineham

Seventeen years ago, the newly founded Stop the War Coalition warned that an attack on Afghanistan would lead to the death of tens of thousands of innocent civilians and devastation in the country. We predicted that Western troops would be bogged down there for years and that far from making the world a safer place, the invasion would lead to the spread of terrorism in Afghanistan and way beyond. Tragically, our grimmest warnings have proved to be understatement.

Tony Blair, George Bush and their supporters rejoiced at the fall of Kabul to their allies, the warlords of the Northern Alliance on November 13, 2001. This followed weeks of aerial bombardment and fierce fighting in various parts of the north of the country. The BBC’s John Simpson literally fronted up the liberation of the capital Kabul. Apparently forgetting he was supposed to be a journalist he and his crew walked into the city ahead of the tanks of the Northern Alliance waving to what he took to be adoring crowds.

The Guardian enthused that ‘the Taliban myth is dead’, claiming that ‘Just as Nazism vanished into the ether…the Taliban brand of insane fundamentalism may now ebb away’.

Bombing for democracy

But the Taliban was not dead, its leaders had simply ordered a retreat. Opposition to the Northern Alliance’s brutal rule of large parts of the country, and distaste for yet another foreign intervention in a country wrecked by foreign occupation and war since 1979 led to increasing resistance. In 2003 the Western operation was handed over to NATO and the number of occupying troops began to rise. Despite this, in 2006 the Taliban started to make significant gains in various different parts of the country.

In response there were big Western troop surges in 2006 and again under Obama in 2009. Bizarrely recycling the military jargon of Vietnam, experts claimed that the aim was to "clear and hold" villages backed up by what were called "nation building” projects. Announcing British participation in the first of these surges, Defence Secretary John Reid claimed sending more troops was not an act of war and that he would be happy if the soldiers returned without firing a single shot.

Death and the damage done

By 2011, ten years after the initial invasion, and millions of live rounds later, there were 140,000 Western led troops in the country. In depth Research by the Physicians for Social Responsibility suggested that 220,000 people had been killed in Afghanistan, and predictably, the death rate was rising with the number of foreign troops engaged. Western troop deaths peaked in 2010 and reached 3,000 by 2012, including more than 400 from Britain.

The shocking death toll cannot capture the full human horror of the occupation. Endless bombing and ground combat destroyed infrastructure, wrecked an already fragile economy and ensured that whole regions of the country were unsafe. Directly contradicting Cherie Blair’s claims that western bombs would prove liberating for Afghan women, the experience of the war for women was particularly devastating. Survey’s showed that by 2011 Afghanistan was probably the most dangerous country in the world for women.

Virtually unreported, the agony of Afghanistan has continued since that time. In fact in recent months the situation has deteriorated. In 2016, an average of 22 people were dying per day in the war between the Taliban and the Western backed security forces. This figure was so bad that the Western alliance decided to stop publishing the figures. The International Crisis Group suggests Afghanistan experienced the most intense fighting in the winter of 2017/18 than in any other winter since 2001. According to a New York Times special report Senior Afghan officials now estimate that the daily kill rate has climbed to between 50 and 60 in the last few months. Government figures show that the percentage of districts under ‘insurgent’ control has gone up by 50% since 2015.

Seventeen years after the Western invasion, the Taliban is gaining momentum, making territorial progress and winning battle after battle.

Facing defeat?

While reports circulate of diplomatic initiatives, there is, incredibly, a new Western military escalation. Donald Trump launched what he called a ‘new’ South Asia strategy in the summer of last year. He promised ‘no hasty exit’ from Afghanistan, promised to ‘pursue the Taliban and others more aggressively’ and added ‘we are not nation building again. We are killing terrorists’.

True to his word the US has led the new surge which has taken NATO troop numbers back up to 16,000 and sharply increased the number of US airstrikes on the country. In lock step with her transatlantic friend, Theresa May recently announced the deployment of 440 additional British troops to Afghanistan in the next few months, bringing British troop strength to 1,000.

Her defense secretary, Gavin Williamson, this week made the claim that Britain has become ‘too timid’ regarding military intervention. Most people in the country believe the opposite. Terrified of global competitors, the US and their British allies are not just incapable of learning from history, they can’t even recognize defeat. Every extra day we stay in Afghanistan brings more pointless death and misery. Every day makes the world a more dangerous place.

http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/news-comment/3157-tragically-stop-the-war-has-been-proved-right-about-afghanistan-our-leaders-still-won-t-listen
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سيف الله
10-12-2018, 06:14 PM
Salaam

Another update

ICC on collision course with US over looming Afghan war crimes probe

Lawyers say probe into alleged war crimes is inevitable, but Washington's determination to block case could be crisis moment for international law


The International Criminal Court appears to be poised to open a formal investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by American forces and CIA officers in Afghanistan, despite the threat of US sanctions.

A pre-trial chamber at The Hague-based ICC is currently considering a request from the court’s prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, that all three main parties to the war in Afghanistan – the Taliban, the Kabul government and the United States – be subject to a formal investigation.

Leading international lawyers spoken to by Middle East Eye agree that the legal tests that must be considered by the ICC have been met, and that a war crimes investigation now appears inevitable. Some suggest that a failure to investigate would be “scandalous”, and fatally undermine the stature of the court.

However, a formal investigation will set the ICC on a collision course with the United States government, which has made clear it intends to thwart the inquiry – an outcome that would also damage the court’s reputation.

As a consequence, observers say, a court that was established to “guarantee lasting respect for the enforcement of international justice” is now considering not only its responsibilities in law, but also how best to secure its own future.
'We will not sit quietly'

Last month US National Security Advisor John Bolton made clear that his government would not only refuse to co-operate, but would ban Bensouda and her ICC colleague from entering the country, seize their assets and even prosecute them in the US criminal courts.

In a speech, Bolton said an inquiry into war crimes in Afghanistan would be an “utterly unfounded, unjustifiable investigation”.

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 came just weeks after the 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks in New York and Washington and quickly led to the fall of the Taliban government in Kabul.

But US and allied forces remained bogged down for years in a violent conflict, and the Taliban and other militant groups continue to control large areas of the country.

"If the court comes after us, Israel, or other US allies we will not sit quietly,” Bolton said. “We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead.”

The US has not ratified the Rome Statute, the piece of international law that established the ICC in 2002 in order to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of state aggression.

Afghanistan has ratified the statute, however, meaning the court has jurisdiction over crimes committed as a consequence of the war in that country since 1 May 2003.

The ICC has told the US government that the pre-trial chamber is on the verge of making its decision, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.

Lawyers spoken to by Middle East Eye believe it will be difficult for the ICC to refuse Bensouda’s request because of the wealth of evidence that significant numbers of war crimes have been committed in Afghanistan.

In the case of the US, this evidence includes the 2014 US Senate Intelligence Committee report, which drew upon the CIA’s own records to document human rights abuses that the agency committed in a global network of secret prisons; reports by the International Committee of the Red Cross; and findings by the European Court of Human Rights.

The US government may seek UN Security Council permission to delay any investigation, however. Even if an inquiry is launched, the lack of US co-operation will seriously hinder its progress, leading some international law experts to doubt that any American defendants will ever find themselves in the dock at The Hague.

The UN Security Council can defer a formal investigation if nine members agree, as long as none of the five permanent members – the US, Russia, the UK, France and China – veto such a move.

In a preliminary report in 2017, Bensouda said there was a reasonable basis to believe that US forces personnel and CIA officers had been involved in the war crimes of torture and rape, and that the crimes committed at the agency’s so-called black sites in countries including Poland, Lithuania and Romania, had been “committed with particular cruelty”.

A number of the detainees held at these sites were then consigned to the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Bensouda has said that crimes were inflicted on a relatively small number of people detained by the US military in Afghanistan.

If a formal investigation is launched, the ICC is expected to investigate officers who served within the military command structure in country. In relation to the CIA, however, she has expressed an interest in "those who developed, authorised, or bore oversight responsibility" for the agency's interrogation methods, meaning that senior officials at the agency - or their political masters - could find themselves under investigation.

'Very low threshold'


The Rome Statute says that the ICC “shall authorise an investigation” if there is a “reasonable basis” to believe that crimes within its jurisdiction have been committed. During proceedings that led to the investigation and prosecution of former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo, the court ruled that the term “reasonable basis” should be seen as a low bar to cross.

“There’s a very low threshold,” Katherine Gallagher, senior attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, told MEE. “She’s not asking for an indictment. She’s simply asking to investigate. And there’s a tremendous amount of information in the public domain.”

Chantal Meloni, legal advisor to the international crimes and accountability programme at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said: “I think at this point it would be seen as a scandal to not authorise this investigation: it would be really shocking in a way.”

However, Philippe Sands, professor of law at University College London, who has appeared as counsel before the ICC, warned that an investigation is not a foregone conclusion.

“It is a matter of the most serious concern that nothing has happened before now, and that fact has tended to undermine the reputation of the institution in the eyes of many,” he told MEE.

But with the court now in a vulnerable position, caught between the need to be seen to be acting, on the one hand, and the desire not to undermine the support of an important country, Sands believes political considerations will be inevitable.

'The path is not clear'

Cornell Law School professor Joe Margulies, who represents the Guantanamo inmate Abu Zubaydah, a Saudi national who was waterboarded 83 times according to the Senate report into the CIA torture programme, also questions whether an effective investigation will ever take place.

“The public comments that Bolton made are really just the tip of the iceberg of diplomatic efforts that are taking place behind the scenes to defer indefinitely an ICC investigation,” he said. “That which is said publicly is a window into what is going on.”

No Americans are likely to prosecuted in the foreseeable future, Margulies said. “Even if the path were clear, it would be years, and the path is not clear.”

International lawyers agree on one matter: the ICC now finds itself between a rock and a very hard place.

Some African observers have accused the court of abandoning the pursuit of global justice in favour of the pursuit only of African leaders, and will see a failure to investigate the US as evidence of this, possibly triggering renewed calls for an African Union walkout.

rest here

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/icc-collision-course-us-over-looming-afghanistan-war-crimes-probe-366131245



Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association, said: “I think that the legal condition will be met: I think there will be a decision to permit her to proceed.”
Reply

سيف الله
10-13-2018, 01:23 PM
Salaam

Another update

The Kremlin’s comeback

Thirty years after the Soviet Union’s humiliating defeat in Afghanistan, Moscow wants back in.


Russia has been cultivating ties with the Taliban to increase its influence in Afghanistan three decades after Moscow’s humiliating defeat there helped hasten the Soviet Union’s collapse.


Russian engagement with the militants drew attention, and some flak, when the Kremlin invited Taliban representatives to Moscow for a meeting in September. That invitation was rescinded — at least temporarily — after the Afghan government objected, saying it must take the lead in any talks.

But the diplomatic kerfuffle laid bare the Kremlin’s effort to reassert itself in Afghanistan, an initiative that has included discreet contacts with Taliban leaders and a military buildup along the country’s northern edge.

Moscow has also sought to reclaim its role as regional power broker, convening secret discussions with the United States, Iran, Pakistan, India and China and seeking to ensure any finale to the conflict suits Russian interests.

It is part of a strategy, analysts said, to protect Russia’s southern flank from the Islamic State’s emergence in Central Asia and hedge against the possibility of an abrupt U.S. exit from Afghanistan after 17 years of war.

The Russian gambit is a relatively modest political investment that could yet yield outsize dividends as Moscow seeks to prove its global heft. “Supporting the Taliban in a small way is an insurance policy for the future,” said Artemy Kalinovsky, a scholar of Central Asian history at the University of Amsterdam.

Gen. John Nicholson Jr., who recently stepped down as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said Moscow is trying to “drive a wedge” between the United States and its coalition partners.

“We know that Russia is attempting to undercut our military gains and years of military progress in Afghanistan and make partners question Afghanistan’s stability,” he said in a recent interview.

As Russia has increased its profile, there have been allegations, unsubstantiated but persistent, from Nicholson and other senior U.S. officials that the Kremlin has provided small arms to the Taliban, or at least tolerated a supply of Russian weapons to the militants from Central Asia. Russia has denied the accusations.

U.S. officials doubt that Moscow is trying to help secure victory for the militants, the successors of the mujahideen guerrillas who battled the Soviet troops in the 1980s. Instead, the officials said, Russia is trying to strengthen its own position without provoking the United States — and a few crates of Kalashnikovs can facilitate meetings and establish relationships without altering the battlefield.

Russia’s return comes as the Trump administration struggles to reverse a prolonged Taliban resurgence and push the militants toward a deal. While a more expansive military mission has helped Afghan forces defend populated areas, vast swaths of the country remain no-go zones.

In August, militants temporarily overran a provincial capital, underscoring the fragility of the Afghan government’s grip on the country.

Against that backdrop, U.S. officials fear that the Kremlin’s intervention may complicate if not damage the effort to foster peace talks by giving the militants new avenues of support, thus reducing their incentive to cut a deal.

“The Taliban needs to feel the Russian pressure to negotiate rather than feeling emboldened by another patron,” said a senior Trump administration official who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive policy. “That is the concern.”

Rest here

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/world/wp/2018/10/12/feature/behind-the-scenes-russia-regains-a-complicated-status-afghanistan-power-broker/?utm_term=.0467967a74c0
Reply

سيف الله
10-14-2018, 06:24 PM
Salaam

Another update.

Afghan Taliban officials: 'US agrees to discuss troops pullout'

US agrees to discuss pullout of troops from Afghanistan as part of talks to end 17-year war, Taliban officials say.


The United States has agreed to discuss the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan in a direct meeting with Taliban representatives in Qatar, officials from the armed group said.

In a preliminary meeting in Doha on Friday, Taliban representatives and US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad discussed the Taliban's conditions to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan, two top Taliban officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Al Jazeera.

"Six US delegates arrived in Doha to have a meeting with our (Taliban) leaders [and] agreed to discuss all issues, including the pullout of foreign troops," one of the officials said.

"But, it was a preliminary meeting and all issues were discussed in general, not in detail," he added, saying more talks were expected to take place in the near future.

Last year, US President Donald Trump increased the number of US forces in the country as part of a new strategy against the Taliban. There are now about 14,000 US soldiers in the country. The Taliban has previously said the presence of foreign troops was the biggest obstacle to peace in Afghanistan.

In addition to the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban's conditions include the lifting of sanctions on its leaders, the release of their fighters imprisoned in Afghanistan, and the establishment of an official political office.

At the request of the US, a Taliban office was established in Doha in 2013 to facilitate peace talks but it was shut shortly after opening when it came under pressure over a flag hung outside the office, the same flag that was flown during the Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

Then Afghan President Hamid Karzai subsequently halted peace efforts, saying the office was presenting itself as an unofficial embassy for a government-in-exile.

The flag has since been taken down and the office has been empty with no official announcements about a possible reopening.

Talks with the Taliban have since been taking place elsewhere in Doha.

US officials in Kabul and Zalmay Khalilzad were not immediately available to comment on Saturday's gathering in the Qatari capital.

It was the second time that US officials met the group in Qatar. The first meeting took place in July, and included US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells.

In recent months, Khalilzad, who was appointed as US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation in September, has met officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in a bid to renew the long-stalled direct talks with the Taliban.

'US puppets'


The Taliban, Afghanistan's largest armed group which was toppled from power by a US-led invasion in 2001, has repeatedly turned down offers of talks with the Afghan government, calling them "US puppets", despite calls from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to start negotiations.

Instead, they demanded to meet US officials for talks primarily on foreign troops withdrawal.

In July, the US announced it was ready for direct talks with the Taliban to seek negotiations and to "discuss the role of international forces".

Abdul Salam Zaeef, a former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan who is now based in Doha and in contact with the Taliban representatives, confirmed the US decision to discuss a pullout from Afghanistan.

"As per my information, the US has reached an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw troops from Afghanistan but the US officials have not yet agreed on a date," he said.

"The US is not winning in Afghanistan. They are aware of that, which means they have to agree on the Taliban's conditions for ending the war in the country."

Some analysts, however, fear the withdrawal of foreign troops will not end the long-running conflict in Afghanistan.

In recent months, there has been a surge in violence across the country, with heavy clashes between the Taliban and Afghan security forces from the provinces of Badakhshan, Baghlan and Faryab in the north to the province of Farah in the west.

Power-sharing

Faizullah Zaland, a political analyst based in Kabul, said long-term international support and a power-sharing agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government is necessary to end the war.

"The US has tried all its methods, policies and strategies to limit the Afghan war, but instead the war has grown even more. The Taliban has got more land and more control in the country," he said.

The US strategy in 2017 of increasing troops in Afghanistan by raising the number of soldiers from 8,400 to about 14,000, has also "failed", he said

"The international community's long-term support is the only guarantee for Afghan peace, in addition to a power-sharing agreement with the Taliban."

In May, Farah city, one of the largest cities of Afghanistan, was on the verge of falling to the Taliban, which would have made it the second city, after Kunduz in 2015, to fall under the Taliban since the war began in 2001.

In an attempt to put an end fight, in February, Ghani offered recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate political group and involvement in a constitutional review that he said could bring the group to the negotiating table to end the 17-year war.

But the Taliban continued fighting as their demand to meet directly with US officials was ignored.

Last week, the Taliban issued a warning that its fighters would target government security forces to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban said, fighters will target "people who are trying to help in holding this process successfully by providing security".

He added that "no stone should be left unturned for the prevention and failure" of the election.

As of January 2018, the Afghan government only controls 56.3 percent of the country, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released in May.

The Taliban, meanwhile, holds 59 districts, while the remaining 119 - about 29.2 percent - are contested, meaning they are controlled by neither the Afghan government nor the armed group.

In a report last week, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said at least 8,050 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in the first nine months of 2018.

Half of them were killed in suicide attacks and bombings that might amount to war crimes, UNAMA said

"Civilian deaths have not been the main concern during these talks, but in reality, civilian casualties is the grimmest part of this war and the credit goes to all sides engaged in this conflict," Zaland, the political analyst told Al Jazeera.

"Trust building measurements should be soon taken in order to build the trust of civilians for them to support the peace process."

He was not present at the meeting, but said the withdrawal of foreign troops "now only requires a timeline for implementation".

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/afghan-taliban-officials-agrees-discuss-troops-pullout-181013134957130.html
Reply

Eric H
10-26-2018, 03:56 PM
Greetings and peace be with you Junon;

I saw a programme on the BBC last night, they said about a 100,000 US troops have committed suicide since returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, that is about 22 every day. I can only think they saw things and did things that did not sit right with them.

In the spirit of praying for justice for all people,

Eric
Reply

سيف الله
10-27-2018, 02:19 AM
Salaam

format_quote Originally Posted by Eric H
Greetings and peace be with you Junon;

I saw a programme on the BBC last night, they said about a 100,000 US troops have committed suicide since returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, that is about 22 every day. I can only think they saw things and did things that did not sit right with them.

In the spirit of praying for justice for all people,

Eric
Yes its the same story replayed over and over.

From Vietnam



To Iraq/Afghanistan



The purpose of war in this day and age.



Theres an inevitability about it though :hmm:.

Reply

سيف الله
10-27-2018, 10:13 AM
Salaam

Another perspective.

Blurb

What has 17 years of US invasion of Afghanistan done to the country and its people?

Reply

سيف الله
11-10-2018, 05:18 AM
Salaam

Another update

Afghan peace conference: India shares table with Taliban

India, among other regional nations, is part of the Russia-hosted peace talks in Moscow to end the war in Afghanistan.

India is participating in a Russia-sponsored peace conference with Taliban in a significant reassessment of its position on talks with the armed group that has waged an armed rebellion since 2001.

New Delhi has sent former Indian envoys to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Amar Sinha and TCA Raghavan respectively, to attend the conference at the "non-official level".

"India supports all efforts at peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan that will preserve unity and plurality, and bring security, stability and prosperity to the country," India's foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

"India's consistent policy has been that such efforts should be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled and with participation of the Government of Afghanistan," he said.

Moscow said it had invited representatives from the United States as well as Iran, China, Pakistan and five former Soviet republics in Central Asia.

A five-member Taliban delegation led by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanakzai, head of its political council in Qatar, is also attending the talks in Moscow.

Foreign policy analyst Manoj Joshi, who represents the Observer Research Foundation, said the talks in Moscow come at a time when the Taliban have steadily fortified their control in the Afghan countryside.

"Essentially, India has bowed to the inevitable since the US, Russia, China and even the Afghan government have all indicated one way or the other that they are ready to talk with the Taliban," Joshi told Al Jazeera.

"New Delhi is confident that the host Russians would not do anything which would be against India's interests. Also, in participating in these talks, India takes the view that since the Afghan government, through the High Peace Council, is present, there should be no problem," he added.

The High Peace Council (HPC) is a government body responsible for reconciliation efforts with the Taliban.

"Element of seriousness"

The Russian diplomatic efforts come weeks after newly appointed US special envoy for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, held talks with the Taliban in Qatar.

He will visit Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar from November 8 to 20 in an effort to end the 17-year-old war in Afghanistan.

"There has been a shift in US policy - earlier, even though the previous administration spoke about a negotiated settlement, there was no concrete direction," Zahid Hussain, an Islamabad-based security analyst, told Al Jazeera.

"For the first time now, the US is talking directly to the Taliban, which is also acceptable to the Taliban, as this was their demand from the outset. There has been some movement.

"There is an element of seriousness from all sides."
The US has said it will send a representative from its embassy in Moscow to attend Friday's talks.

India's participation is a stark departure from its earlier position as it has never engaged in formal talks with the Taliban.



Reconciliation efforts

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has previously proposed talks with the Taliban, saying it could be recognised as a political party if it accepted a ceasefire and accepted the country's constitution.

The Taliban, which has been fighting the US-led forces since being thrown out of power in 2001, has generally refused to negotiate with the Afghan government.

"Although the Afghan government is preparing to negotiate, many people are now blaming the government, particularly President Ghani," said Hekmatullah Azamy, acting head of Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies in Kabul.

"They argue that successful peace talks mean a new interim administration which will be unacceptable to President Ghani," Azamy told Al Jazeera.

In the meeting on Friday, members of the HPC said they are ready for talks with the Taliban without any preconditions.

"The future of Taliban is a matter of serious concern for the group - both at the leadership level as well as for its rank and file," Azamy said.

"Taliban often questions whether they are ready to become a 100 percent political group and whether they can survive mainstream politics.

"Moreover, would the rank and file follow the leaders or will they join groups like Daesh (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group)."

Taliban officials have set the withdrawal of all foreign forces, release of prisoners and the lifting of a ban on travel as preconditions for any peace talks.

India had earlier refused to support a 2007 initiative of former Afghan president Hamid Karzai to engage the "good Taliban" in the peace process.

"Some make a distinction between 'good Taliban' and 'bad Taliban' - I don't, because I've seen the Taliban, they have only one cult - the cult of violence," then foreign minister of India Pranab Mukherjee had said.

The Taliban has inflicted a heavy toll on Afghan security forces in renewed attacks in recent weeks. At least 20 army soldiers were killed at a border outpost in western Afghanistan on Tuesday.

More than 17 years after the US-led forces invaded the country and removed the Taliban, the war is intensifying. In recent months, violence has continued with mounting casualties on both sides.

There have been several attempts in recent years to broker a settlement between the western-backed government in Kabul and the Taliban without much success.

"India's representatives are attending the talks in Moscow as part of efforts to bring peace and stability to the region. It's not switching tack but evolving assessment of ground realities," said a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker in New Delhi on condition of anonymity.

"All efforts towards making peace, whether the US-led talks or Russia-led talks, will help. We will be there to observe," he added.

According to Azamy, India is one of the important stakeholders enjoying friendly ties with Kabul. He says it is vital for New Delhi to be a part of peace talks, especially with the Taliban involved.

"Without India's involvement, the outcome of peace talks could upset them or make them feel insecure. They want to be engaged and aware of the developments," he said.

India has forged a close partnership with Kabul since the fall of the Taliban. It has engaged in infrastructure and welfare projects in the war-torn country worth millions of dollars earning goodwill from Afghans.

It has also provided training to Afghan military personnel as well as donating military hardware as part of its policy to deepen military ties.

"By attending the Taliban talks, India can get a voice in the outcome of the peace process, where it has none at present. It will try to coordinate with the Afghan government which it supports strongly," analyst Joshi told Al Jazeera.

"Simultaneously, the process enables it to build ties with the Taliban, even if somewhat late in the day. India cannot ignore the fact that ground realities ensure that the Taliban will be in the Afghan governing structure in some form or the other."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/sri-lanka-president-dissolves-parliament-deepening-crisis-181109170918447.html
Reply

JustTime
11-15-2018, 07:02 AM
Taliban is a Russian-Iranian project and it is clear they are being used the people who murder our brothers and sisters in Syria are the same ones who support the "heroic" Tribalistic-Nationalist Taliban Movement that is based in the "Muslim" Brotherhood stronghold of Qatar which we all know is a Trojan horse for the Safawi Rafida. The Taliban is a movement written in lies and designed to divide.
Reply

سيف الله
11-15-2018, 09:50 PM
Salaam

Another update

Go the hell home already

The ranking commander in Afghanistan has publicly conceded that the Afghan war cannot be won.

The Afghanistan war cannot be won militarily and peace will only be achieved through a political resolution with the Taliban, the newly-appointed American general in charge of US and NATO operations has conceded.

In his first interview since taking command of NATO’s Resolute Support mission in September, Gen. Austin Scott Miller provided NBC News with a surprisingly candid assessment of the seemingly never-ending conflict, which began with the US invasion of Afghanistan in October, 2001.

“This is not going to be won militarily. This is going to a political solution," Miller said. He mused that the Taliban is also tired of fighting and may be interested in starting to “work through the political piece” of the 17-year-old war.

But it’s not clear if the Taliban is open to negotiations. Last month, a top Taliban commander told RT, in a rare interview, that the group’s leaders had no desire to negotiate with the Americans.


https://www.rt.com/usa/442939-miller...-lost-taliban/


Congratulations, it only took 17 years for the U.S. military to discover why Afghanistan is called "the graveyard of empires". That's some fine military intelligence at work there. Go the hell home. The invasion was bad enough, but the decision to try and occupy Afghanistan was reprehensibly stupid. No more wars without formal Congressional declaration.

http://voxday.blogspot.com/2018/11/g...e-already.html
Reply

JustTime
11-16-2018, 01:58 AM
Afghanistan 2020 Iran's puppet under the "Islamic" Emirate's rule IRGC is going to run the place, sick!
Reply

سيف الله
12-21-2018, 10:40 PM
Salaam

Oh dear, now China is getting interested in intervening in Afghanistan.

Blurb

Afghanistan has been a place of turmoil for decades. America and Russia have both had their turns in seeking their interests in the region. Now the rising Chinese power has it's turn. But what does China want in Afghanistan?

Reply

سيف الله
12-28-2018, 12:09 AM
Salaam

Another update



Taliban greets Pentagon's withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan with cries of victory

"The 17-year long struggle and sacrifices of thousands of our people finally yielded fruit," said a senior commander in Helmand.


News that the White House had ordered the Pentagon to draw up plans for a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan provoked widespread criticism that the move would kneecap efforts to broker a peace deal to end America's longest war.

But there was one group on Friday celebrating the reports — the Taliban.

Senior members told NBC News the news was a clear indication they were on the verge of victory.

“The 17-year-long struggle and sacrifices of thousands of our people finally yielded fruit," said a senior Taliban commander from Afghanistan’s Helmand province. "We proved it to the entire world that we defeated the self-proclaimed world’s lone super power."

“We are close to our destination," added the commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the group's leadership had prohibited members from talking to the media about current events. He added that all field commanders had also been told to intensify training efforts to capture four strategic provinces in the run up to the next round of talks between the U.S. and Taliban, which are expected in January.

A Taliban leader in eastern Kunar province, Maulvi Sher Mohammad, said news of withdrawals should serve as a lesson to Americans.

“The U.S. people and particularly its rulers should think about what they achieved by invading Afghanistan and by causing so many losses to the citizens of Afghanistan and wasting their own resources on this long war,” he said.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the Taliban's claims.

So far, the U.S.'s military campaign, along with billions in aid, have not succeeded in driving out the Taliban and other militants or making the country safe.

In 2017, Afghanistan overtook Iraq to become the deadliest country for terrorism, with one-quarter of all such deaths worldwide happening there. And the number of civilians killed in the country reached a record in the first half of this year, with a surge in suicide attacks claimed by the Islamic State group, according to the United Nations.

Despite years of fighting, only around 65 percent of the Afghan population lives in areas under government control.

The U.S. plans for a withdrawal were due shortly after the new year, according to two defense officials and a person briefed on the matter. They cautioned that no decision has been made, but President Donald Trump wants to see options.

The White House has asked the Pentagon to look into multiple options, including a complete withdrawal, the officials said.

The Taliban sheltered 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden and was toppled soon after the 2001 attacks. Since then, the militants have been trying to unseat the U.S.-backed government in Kabul and reimpose their strict version of Shariah. Successes on the battlefield coupled with a recent intensifying efforts to reach a peace deal led by U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad have boosted the movement's confidence and power.

Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan and the United Nations, has stressed he is "in a hurry" to secure an agreement, a sign of how eager the White House is to withdraw the 15,000 American troops remaining in the country.

But reducing the U.S. footprint in Afghanistan would mean fewer U.S. air bases, and American firepower will be “less responsive and less available” for Afghan troops fighting Taliban militants, said Jason Campbell, a former senior Defense Department official and now a policy researcher at the RAND Corp. think tank.

Plans to scale back the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan comes after Washington pressed NATO allies this year to keep troops in the country, and some governments — including Britain — agreed to expand their contributions following an appeal from Defense Secretary James Mattis, who resigned on Thursday.

The news shocked and confused NATO allies and the Afghan government, at a moment when the United States is engaged in a major diplomatic push to try to launch peace negotiations.

“The abruptness of this I think really hurts our credibility,” Campbell said.

For Khalilzad, the move deprives him of his most effective point of leverage before negotiations even have begun in earnest, experts and former officials said.

“It will have a devastating effect on peace negotiations,” said Seth Jones, a former adviser to the U.S. military now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

“The challenge now the U.S. faces is how is it going to get the Taliban to reach an agreement if they can wait and expect a better outcome in the future if the U.S. continues to withdraw its forces?”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/taliban-greets-pentagon-s-withdrawal-troops-afghanistan-cries-victory-n950811?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma
Reply

سيف الله
01-03-2019, 10:31 PM
Salaam

Trumps opinion.

Blurb

U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized U.S. generals for not defeating the Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan after 19 years of involvement. Speaking to reporters at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump said the generals were given "all the money they wanted" and "didn't do such a great job in Afghanistan." The president questioned justification for the expense in a country thousands of miles away from the United States. VOA's Zlatica Hoke has more.







A critical view

Reply

سيف الله
01-25-2019, 06:20 PM
Salaam

Another update. They could of did this in 2001, better late than never.




Taliban appoints new political leader to join U.S.-Taliban peace talks


A co-founder of the Taliban was appointed as the leader of its political office in Qatar on Thursday to strengthen its hand in peace talks with the United States as they try to establish a mechanism to end the 17-year Afghan war.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was released from a prison in Pakistan in October last year has been authorised to lead the political team and take decisions, two Taliban sources in Afghanistan said.

The Taliban issued a statement to announce Baradar’s appointment and a reshuffle in their team to put senior leaders into key positions as the talks with U.S. officials gain momentum.

“This step has been taken to strengthen and properly handle the ongoing negotiations process with the United States,” the Taliban said in statement.

U.S. special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad’s meeting with the Taliban representatives, which was originally due to run over two days, entered its fourth day on Thursday.

It was not clear whether the talks were to continue on Friday, or how soon Baradar could join the talks.

“Baradar will soon fly to Qatar. He has been given the new position because the U.S. wanted senior Taliban leadership to participate in peace talks,” a senior Taliban official said.

Baradar, who coordinated the insurgent group’s military operations in southern Afghanistan, was arrested in 2010 by a team from Pakistan’s military-controlled intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

His release, according to security experts, was part of high-level negotiations led by Khalilzad with the Taliban.

Diplomatic efforts to end the United State’s longest running conflict intensified last year after the appointment of the Afghan-born Khalilzad to lead direct talks with the Taliban.

He has held at least four meetings with the Taliban representatives. But there has been no let up in the violence.

And abiding fears about how Afghan government forces would withstand the Taliban threat without U.S. military support have been heightened by reports that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to bring home almost half of the 14,000 U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan.

“POSITIVE PROGRESS”


But the unexpected extension of peace talks was a positive sign, according to two senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan who have been kept informed of the progress made in Qatar.

During the first two days, the talks focussed on a roadmap for the withdrawal of the foreign forces and a guarantee that Afghanistan would not be used for hostile acts against the United States and its allies, according to one of Taliban leaders.

“The mechanism for a ceasefire and ways to enter into an intra-Afghan dialogue were the two other big topics that were supposed to be discussed on Thursday,” he told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A third source based in the Gulf, who has close ties to the Taliban representatives, said the decision to extend the meeting in the Qatari capital Doha came after “positive progress” during the first two days.

Members of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council (AHPC), a body which oversees peace efforts but does not represent the government said they were hoping for positive news.

“When talks take a long time it means the discussion is in a sensitive and important stage, and the participants are getting close to a positive result,” said Sayed Ehsan Taheri, the spokesman for AHPC in Kabul.

The Taliban who are fighting to oust foreign troops have repeatedly rejected the offer to hold direct talks with President Ashraf Ghani’s government, which they consider an illegitimate foreign-imposed regime.

The U.S. and regional powers insist that the peace process should be “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned”.

Newly appointed Baradar will also hold the additional post of third deputy of Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of Taliban and work with Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, a veteran Taliban official who has been running the group’s political office in Qatar since 2015 and has participated in the latest rounds of peace talks.

“Stanekzai was given the responsibility but he was not powerful to make all decisions,” said a second Taliban official on conditions of anonymity.

https://in.reuters.com/article/pakis...-idINKCN1PJ16Y
Reply

سيف الله
01-29-2019, 10:04 PM
Salaam

Another update

Taliban talks with the US proving fruitful – Perspective!


Glad to see the American Administration is opting for jaw-jaw instead of war-war as news is filtering through about talks between Uncle Sam and the Afghan Taliban are making “significant progress”.

The talks are aimed at bringing an end to this 17-year-old war which should never ever have happened.

I was contemplating life and the universe in a Taliban prison cell in Kabul on the night the US and Britain dropped more than 50 cruise missiles on the Afghan capital.

You can feel a cruise missile from 20 miles away, I can still hear it when I close my eyes, but I got a real flavour of the panic and fear experienced by Afghans living in Kabul that night on October 7 2001.

When I was released on humanitarian grounds I annoyed many people by criticising the war and predicting the Taliban would never stop fighting for their country.

I gleaned this in just 11 days of being held prisoner by these scary looking men with their large black turbans and massive, bushy beards.

Sadly it has taken the US and its Allies slightly longer and I don’t even want to think about the cost in Afghan civilian lives as well as the military on all sides.

This war should never have happened and was nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to the horrific events of 9/11.

The good news is that after six days of talks in Qatar there seems to be some light at the end of this very long tunnel with talks being described as much “more productive than they have been in the past”.

Apparently, there’s even a draft agreement on the table which calls for a withdrawal of foreign forces in return for assurances that al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group will not be allowed to use Afghanistan as a base.

During my last encounter with senior members of the Taliban shurah, they were very keen to tell me: “This war was not of our making and we tried every way to prevent it but the US was determined.”

At least the smoke signals today are much more encouraging. Afghanistan is a great country with great people and hospitality far beyond anything I’ve encountered anywhere in the world.

They deserve peace in their lives for them and their children.

https://wtxnews.com/2019/01/27/talib...l-perspective/
Reply

CuriousonTruth
02-03-2019, 03:36 PM
As a Muslim I support Taliban. They are very different from the rabid salafist movements. Taliban are politically pragmatic and have links with Russia, Iran and maybe even China. This shows they are not restricted to dumb childish idea of heroic politics.

Recently due to ISIS attacks on Taliban, I've heard they've adopted a bit of nationalism as well. Taliban are on the right track.

They still have to reform a lot if they want to become proper rulers, and relax the harsh regulations of Deobandi sect and achieve a balance between conservativeness and progress.
Reply

سيف الله
02-05-2019, 07:28 PM
Salaam

Another update.

Blurb

After 18 years of occupying Afghanistan the US administration seems to be on the verge of withdrawing. Watch to find out why.



Some comment.

Freespirit

Let's not delude ourselves. USA has not lost the war. They would have you believe it. They succeeded in what they set out to do. They bombed all the Muslim countries to the middle ages. They ensured that the war broke social cohesion so that these countries cannot function as political entities and the resulting chaos will help them to loot all the resources of these countries.

It is naive and simplistic to believe they have lost the war. Afghanistan was a leading country in the world for dry fruits. US military destroyed trees that were hundreds of years old and made it barren to create a market for Californian almonds. Today world over Californian almonds are sold and nobody remembers Afghan dry fruits. This is a small example of how the US destroyed the economies of the middle East countries and Afghanistan. The resultant chaos tore the social fabric of Afghanistan. It was a country that had 80% graduates among it's women. They were all pushed into illiteracy. Same with other countries.

This is modern day imperialism. Sucking the resources dry of a country. The people of USA should rise up and stop their government from looting other countries to feed it's people. It is cannibalistic. Why should one people live in luxury at the cost of others just to maintain their way of life as Bush once declared when he attacked Afghanistan. Where does that make you civilized and modern as the Westerners claim and believe.

They think their behavior and way of life is fit to be emulated by the world. Is it true? They need to introspect. This will be the questions they will have to answer when they stand before the Creator on the day of judgement. Then will they have an answer? Everyone including the whites have to die and leave behind their stolen wealth and the others on whom they have preyed will leave behind their miseries. Then will the accounting begin.


There are few winners in war plenty of losers.
Reply

سيف الله
02-07-2019, 09:16 PM
Salaam

More on the peace talks.











Showing captured vehicles.



How international diplomay works :hmm:

Reply

سيف الله
02-12-2019, 09:21 PM
Salaam

Like to share.

Blurb

... They were bombing and decimating the population for reasons only known to the USA and its Allies. The poor Taliban had no idea why America wished to invade Afghanistan. They had heard of this as a 'mishap' but had no idea of the enormity of the tragedy. They did not know of the complexity of the buildings and people jumping out of towers 100 stories high, as they did not have tv's nor did they know a tower when they were told about it..."

Be inspired, as yvonne ridley, a passionate british journalist, describes the story of how she was held captive by taliban soldiers in afghanistan. intimidated by their presence, she persisted with great fighting zeal to return home to her awaiting family. sit with her in interrogations, war torn afghan jail facilities and then shed tears of sorrow and joy as this touching story unfolds. join her as she challenges taliban soldiers and falsely labeled "terrorists"; only to later fall in love with their character, morality, respect and way of life. indulge yourself in an untainted depiction of the true story of afghanistan and the real war on terror - in the eyes of a western born journalist who was in search of the truth, and found it, in islam... "in the hands of the taliban."


Reply

سيف الله
03-10-2019, 08:49 PM
Salaam

Another update

Pakistan Resumes Cross-Durand Line Shelling: Residents

Local officials said the rockets shelling by Pakistan is a clear violation of international laws.

Some residents of Nangarhar on Sunday claimed that the rocket shelling by Pakistan’s military still continues sporadically despite repeated calls by local officials to stop the “aggression”.

According to a letter sent to the United Nations by the Afghan government on February 23, the cross-Durand Line violations date back to 2012 but have increased in frequency since 2017.

During the 2012 to 2017 period, 28,849 artillery shells were fired into Afghanistan by Pakistan resulting in the death of at least 82 people and injuring 187 others, the letter reads.

Since 1st January 2018, the number of violations by Pakistan in Afghanistan stands at 161 which include firing 6,025 artillery shells into Afghan territory.

The Nangarhar residents said many villages in Goshta and Lal Pur districts have been hit by rockets from the other side of the Durand Line.

Nazar Jan, a resident of Lal Pur district, said he moved his family to a safer place as according to him, the rocket shelling from Pakistan are threatening their lives.

“They (Pakistani military) came to us from Pakistan and asked almost 3,000 to 4,000 families to leave the area. They (Pakistani military) said they are taking the area. They made the remarks and then started shelling on us,” said Nazar Jan.

“There is no place for people to live in the area as all houses have been destroyed by the shelling. The rocket shelling (by Pakistani military) continues every day,” said Dost Mohammad Mohmand, a resident of Lal Pur district said.

Lal Pur’s District Governor Nematullah Nawrozi confirmed the rockets shelling on the bordering areas in the province and said it is a clear violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

“This is a clear violation of international laws. Pakistan has done this violation in the past and is still doing it,” Nawrozi said.

In the letter to the UN Security Council, the Afghan government raised the issue of “consistent violations of Afghanistan’s territory” by Pakistani forces and has called on the UN to initiate “necessary measures to address the matter at hand in an effective manner”.

https://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan...ling-residents



Bad news.

Reply

سيف الله
03-17-2019, 09:32 AM
Salaam

'American exceptionalism in action'.



US to cut off visas over ICC Afghanistan probes

Pompeo says move aims to protect American military from ‘unjust prosecutions’


The US will revoke or deny visas to anyone connected with International Criminal Court probes into alleged US military abuses in Afghanistan, secretary of state Mike Pompeo said on Friday.

The US has long seen the ICC, which is based in the Netherlands, as a threat to its sovereignty. Mr Pompeo said on Friday that the US feared the ICC could be used to carry out “politically motivated” prosecutions of American citizens.

The new visa restrictions will be placed on people who “take or have taken action to request, or further investigate” US military behaviour. They were designed to deter investigations into the US and US allies, including Israel, “without the allies’ consent”.

In 2017 the ICC — which was established in 2002 to prosecute war criminals — asked judges for permission to investigate alleged war crimes carried out in Afghanistan.

American and allied military personnel would be protected from “living in fear of unjust prosecution for actions taken to defend our great nation”, Mr Pompeo said. Any members of the US military found to be involved in wrongdoing would be tried in the US military courts, he added.

John Bolton, US national security adviser, has previously threatened to revoke the visas of ICC personnel if it pursued charges against members of the US military over alleged crimes in Afghanistan, and said that the ICC was a threat to American national security interests.

“We will not co-operate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC,” said Mr Bolton in September. “We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us.”

Mr Pompeo said on Friday that the US would be prepared to take additional measures against the ICC if it did not “change course”, including issuing economic sanctions.

The move by the US administration drew criticism from human rights groups. Rob Berschinski, senior vice-president for policy at Human Rights First and a former US state department official, said it was “appropriate to be sceptical of such a move”.

“Unfortunately, the Trump administration appears more concerned with demonising the ICC than with bringing war criminals to justice,” said Mr Berschinski. “Sanctioning ICC prosecutors will both undermine the legitimacy of US sanctions and provide cover to war criminals eager to delegitimise the court.”

Richard Dicker, a director at Human Rights Watch, said the visa ban was a “blatant attempt to bully judges”, while blocking scrutiny of US actions.

https://www.ft.com/content/8148d628-...8-96a37d002cd3
Reply

MazharShafiq
03-17-2019, 10:14 AM
well done
Reply

سيف الله
03-20-2019, 12:08 AM
Salaam

Like to share



Comment.



Blurb

Just out of high school, at the age of 18, Miles Lagoze enlisted in the Marine Corps. He was deployed to Afghanistan where he served as Combat Camera — his unit's official videographer, tasked with shooting and editing footage for the Corps’ recruiting purposes and historical initiatives.

But upon discharging, Lagoze took all the footage he and his fellow cameramen shot, and he assembled quite simply the very documentary the Corps does not want you to see. COMBAT OBSCURA is a groundbreaking look at daily life in a war zone as told by the Marines themselves. More than a mere compilation of violence, the edit ingeniously repurposes the original footage to reveal the intensity and paradoxes of an ambiguous war from an unvarnished perspective.




the more things change, the more they stay the same

Reply

سيف الله
03-21-2019, 03:59 PM
Salaam

If anyone could be considered 'backwards,' its this clown prince.





EXCLUSIVE: UAE’s bin Zayed ‘proposed killing Taliban leaders’

Abu Dhabi’s crown prince told Mike Pompeo that US withdrawal risked Afghanistan falling back into the hands of the ‘bearded bad guys’, source tells MEE


Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, offered to set up a covert assassination programme targeting senior Taliban leaders during a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier this year, Middle East Eye has learnt.

Bin Zayed made the offer during Pompeo’s visit to the United Arab Emirates on 12 January amid disagreements between the pair over the progress of peace talks between US and Taliban negotiators.

According to a source with detailed knowledge of the meeting, bin Zayed told Pompeo that Washington risked allowing Afghanistan to fall back into the hands of the “backward, bearded bad guys” and proposed hiring mercenaries to kill Taliban leaders to weaken the group’s negotiating position.

Pompeo was visibly taken aback by the offer, but said nothing, the source said.

The United Arab Emirates has previously supported US efforts to broker a peace deal with the Taliban, and hosted a first round of face-to-face negotiations between the two sides on 20 December last year in Abu Dhabi.

But bin Zayed is understood to have been frustrated that subsequent rounds of talks were moved to Doha, the capital of Qatar, at the Taliban’s insistence.

According to MEE’s source, bin Zayed also warned Pompeo that withdrawing American forces from Afghanistan risked turning back the clock to 2001, prior to the US-led invasion that overthrew the Taliban government in Kabul.

The US hopes that a negotiated deal with the Taliban, which continues to battle Afghan government and international forces, could allow it to start withdrawing some of its 14,000 troops still in the country before the end of 2019.

Bin Zayed suggested instead organising and funding what he described as a “Blackwater-style” operation to “wage an assassination campaign against the first-line leadership of the Taliban” in order to prevent it from achieving its chief political demands, the source said.

Mercenary army

Blackwater was the private security firm founded by Erik Prince which was hired by the CIA in 2004 to run covert operations involving the locating and killing of al-Qaeda operatives.

US officials acknowledged the existence of the programme in 2009 but said that no operations were ever conducted.

Blackwater gained notoriety over its activities in Iraq where several of its contractors opened fire on unarmed civilians in Baghdad in 2007, killing 14 people and injuring 17 others.

Prince later settled in Abu Dhabi and was subsequently hired by bin Zayed to build a mercenary army in the UAE to confront potential worker or pro-democracy uprisings.

An 800-member battalion of foreign troops was brought into the UAE, the New York Times reported in 2011.

The UAE also sent foreign mercenaries to fight as part of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, where it ran an assassination programme targeting leaders of Al-Islah, the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In October last year, Abraham Golan, a Hungarian-Israeli security contractor, revealed details about the assassination programme to BuzzFeed News.

The UAE hired former special forces soldiers to carry out the missions, Buzzfeed reported.

“I was running it. We did it. It was sanctioned by the UAE within the coalition,” Golan said.

Al-Islah said in August last year that nine of its leaders had been murdered since 2015. They are among at least 27 clerics killed, often in drive-by shootings, in the southern city of Aden and surrounding areas by unidentified militias in the same period.

A member of the group told MEE in October that he believed bin Zayed was behind the killings.

'Killing and talking'

“I believe that Mohammed bin Zayed convinced [Saudi Crown Prince] Mohammed bin Salman to fight the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen,” said Al-Islah's Mohammed Abdulwadood. “The latter approves all UAE steps in Yemen.”

Bin Zayed has nonetheless maintained close contacts with Al-Islah leaders, who he hosted for talks in Abu Dhabi in November.

MEE’s source described bin Zayed's proposal to target Taliban leaders even as peace talks were ongoing as a replica of the one deployed against Al-Islah leaders in Yemen.

“It’s the same tactic: killing and talking,” he said.

Taliban officials are understood to be aware of bin Zayed's proposal to assassinate the group’s top leadership.

But a Taliban spokesperson in Doha told MEE that he could not comment on the authenticity of the claim.

“Any threat and blackmailing whatsoever and from anywhere will eliminate the present chance for peace and will create irreparable mistrust,” he said.

The government of the UAE has been publicly supportive of US negotiations with the Taliban, with the official WAM news agency reporting after December’s talks that further rounds would also take place in Abu Dhabi “to complete the Afghanistan reconciliation process”.

But the next two rounds of negotiations - a six-day meeting in January described by Pompeo on Twitter as “encouraging”, and further talks over 16 days in February and March - were moved to Doha, where the Taliban has maintained a political office since 2013.

Pompeo is said to have pushed back despite bin Zayed’s displeasure, telling him that the move had happened at the request of the Taliban, and that the US side was less interested in the venue than in achieving a ceasefire.

The US negotiating team is headed by Zalmay Khalilzad, who wrote on Twitter following the end of the last round of talks on 12 March that “the conditions for peace have improved”.



“It’s clear all sides want to end the war. Despite ups and downs, we kept things on track and made real strides,” Khalilzad wrote.

‘Chaos follows’

Bin Zayed was also upset at US President Donald Trump’s announcement in December that he would pull all 2,000 US troops out of Syria, MEE’s source said.

At the time of his meeting with the crown prince, Pompeo and John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, were taking part in a nine-nation tour of the region to reassure allies jittery at the prospect of a sudden US withdrawal from Syria.

Two days earlier, in a keynote speech in Cairo, Pompeo had vowed to “expel every last Iranian boot” from Syria.

But his speech, framed as an assault on Barack Obama’s Middle East policies, was also read as an implicit row back of Trump’s announcement in December that all US troops would leave Syria in 30 days. The announcement prompted a clash with Turkey and the resignation of Jim Mattis, Trump’s defence secretary.

Pompeo declared in Cairo that “when America retreats, chaos follows.”

Bin Zayed reinforced the same message to Pompeo. He told the US secretary of state: “You are leaving Syria to be under Iranian and Turkish influence and that will bring everyone back. They will act against your acts and our interests.”

Bin Zayed held out a carrot. He said that if the US changed its mind, the United Arab Emirates would be prepared to fund the cost of keeping US troops in Syria from its own budget.

The State Department declined to comment when contacted by MEE. MEE also asked the UAE government to comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

https://middleeasteye.net/news/exclu...aliban-leaders

Deeper into the rabbit hole.

Reply

سيف الله
03-21-2019, 11:03 PM
Salaam

Needs to be confirmed but if true :omg:





Some positive news.





The endless hardship :(



Despite all the hardship they have endured they still have time to care for others in the Ummah.




Poverty-stricken Afghanistan donates $1m aid for Palestinians

Turkish Foreign Minister: "The Afghan people have greater need than the Palestinians...But they sent this money here [to Palestinians], forgetting their own hardship..."


He further added: “This contribution and aid that the Afghan people gave will never be forgotten. The Palestinians will never forget the aid and support they were given.”

Afghanistan’s ambassador, for his part, called Afghanistan’s stance for the cause of Palestine “strong.”

“We Afghans face many economic problems and we’re struggling and fighting for a better future for our people. We’re aware of the difficulties that people of Palestine are facing,” said Sayed.

“They need support and we should take steadfast measures to provide them with basic humanitarian aid and support.”

He said the Afghan government considers Erdogan’s call on OIC member states to support the people of Palestine a “positive step.”

Afghanistan also welcomed the OIC initiative for the establishment of a “Waqf Fund” to support Palestinian refugees.

In his speech, the ambassador called on OIC member states as well as other countries to support the people of Palestine “in such a pressing time that they need help and support.”

‘Immense gesture’


For his part, Krahenbuhl thanked Afghanistan for its “immense gesture” at a time that Afghanistan “faces so many challenges and has gone through so much pain, suffering and despair.”

“It is something that will be written in golden letters in the history of UNWRA, as an organization. It means so much to us, as a message to the entire world,” he said.

“This is something that we will carry as a message around the world to inspire others to stand firmly with Palestinian refugees, at a time when Palestinian refugees have often felt that they were forgotten by the world.”

According to a UNRWA statement issued in January, the funding is needed to continue providing assistance to some 5.4 million Palestinian refugees across the Middle East and maintaining the agency’s operations at 2018 levels.

Krahenbuhl said in January that a further $138 million would be required to provide emergency aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem), while an additional $277 million would be needed to support the agency’s Syria Regional Crisis Emergency Appeal.

Last year, US President Donald Trump cut Washington’s annual funding for the UNRWA. The US had been the agency’s largest contributor by far, providing it with $350 million each year – roughly a quarter of its overall budget.

The UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 with the stated aim of providing aid and protection to Palestinian refugees in its five areas of operations: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20...-palestinians/
Reply

سيف الله
03-22-2019, 10:16 PM
Salaam

The reason why they have been able to resist the USA for almost 2 decades.






Reply

Ahmed.
03-22-2019, 10:41 PM
Everything happens ultimately from Allah

Afghanistan has seen no peace since 1979 (apart from few years lull between 1997-2001)

I think all this death and destruction that has plagued Afghanistan for so long could be a karma from Allah as a consequence of a very sick evil thing going on in their country and culture.... I say 'culture' because it is very widespread in Afghanistan

And this evil is men having homosexual relationships with boys and making boys dance as girls:

https://renegadeinc.com/bacha-bazi/

https://youtu.be/eM-xe6wHjnw


https://youtu.be/RLUP7t32zEA

I don't mean to shame Afghanistan, just pointing out what they need to change so that this war plague may be lifted
Reply

سيف الله
07-24-2019, 10:12 AM
Salaam

Another update, Trump being at his diplomatic best.





Pakistan-US Cooperation ‘Has Rekindled Hope’ for Afghan Peace


Pakistan said Tuesday its cooperation in facilitating ongoing peace talks between the United States and the Taliban to end the war in Afghanistan has led to a “gradual warming up” in Islamabad’s turbulent relationship with Washington.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made the remarks just days before Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is scheduled to visit Washington for his first meeting with President Donald Trump.

Qureshi told a seminar Khan’s visit to the U.S. is aimed at seeking a “broader” bilateral engagement, although he acknowledged the Afghan peace process will figure prominently at the White House meeting set for July 22. He said that Trump’s invitation to Khan underscored the “inherent importance of the relationship” for both the countries.

“It will, therefore, be appropriate to work for broader engagement from Afghanistan to bilateral issues, economic and trade cooperation to peace and stability in South Asia,” Qureshi stressed.

It is widely believed that Trump’s invitation to Khan stemmed from recent “substantial” progress in months-long peace negotiations between the U.S. and representatives of the Afghan Taliban to find a political settlement to the 18-year-old Afghan war, the longest U.S. foreign military intervention.

Islamabad takes credited for arranging the U.S.-Taliban talks that started nearly a year ago.

“Pakistan has welcomed President Trump’s farsighted decision to pursue a political solution in Afghanistan, which in fact was an endorsement of our own position espoused for a long time,” Qureshi told a seminar in Islamabad.

Qureshi insisted his government has been facilitating the U.S.-Taliban talks in “good faith” and as a “shared responsibility” to promote regional peace and security.

“The convergence in Pakistan and U.S. polices on Afghanistan has rekindled hope for resolution of the protracted Afghan conflict that has only brought misery and despondency to the region,” the foreign minister stressed.

Qureshi said that besides the “one-on-one” interaction between Trump and Khan, “there will be a restrictive meeting” where the Pakistani political and military leadership will engage with U.S. counterparts before the extended delegation-level talks are held.

Pakistani military chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the head of the country’s spy agency will both accompany Khan during the visit, officials said.

Rollercoaster ties

Pakistan’s usually rollercoaster relations with the U.S. had plunged to historic lows since Trump took office in 2017 and suspended all military assistance to the country.

The American president has accused Islamabad of harboring militant groups U.S. forces are fighting in Afghanistan, despite having received billions of dollars in assistance, saying Pakistan has given Washington "nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools.”

Pakistan rejects the charges and maintains it has suffered tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties as well as and billions of dollars in losses to the national economy because of a militant backlash for joining the U.S. “war on terror.”

Pakistan-India tensions


Qureshi also Tuesday hailed an active role the U.S. played in defusing Pakistan's tensions with rival India in February when the two nuclear-armed neighboring countries came close to another war over the disputed Kashmir region.

“We hope that the leadership of the two countries in Washington can agree on the imperative of resuming a sustained and result-oriented dialogue between Pakistan and India aimed at peacefully resolving all disputes. We are confident that this visit will help in ushering an era of stability and prosperity in South Asia and the broader region."

https://www.voanews.com/south-centra...e-afghan-peace

Edit -

Reply

سيف الله
09-16-2019, 07:56 PM
Salaam

Another update. Talks have collapsed.

Blurb

US President Donald Trump says he has cancelled a secret meeting with the Taliban in the United States. The leaders were supposed to meet at Camp David on Sunday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says talks with the Taliban are now dead "for the time being" and the special envoy is being recalled. Meetings between the envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the Taliban had been ongoing in Qatar for nearly a year.
The Taliban released a statement in response, saying “Americans will suffer more than anyone else” because of Trump's decision to cancel the talks.

The office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says peace will only be possible if the Taliban stops launching attacks and holds direct talks with the government.




Taliban response.

Blurb

Peace talks between the United States and the Taliban began last October in Qatar, with the aim of ending the almost 18-year-old war in Afghanistan.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced that negotiations were over.

"They are dead. They are dead. As far as I’m concerned, they are dead," Trump told reporters, blaming a Taliban attack last week in which an American soldier was among the 12 people killed.

"They thought that they had to kill people in order to put themselves in a little better negotiating position ... You can't do that with me, so they [the talks] are dead as far as I'm concerned," Trump said.

The president's move surprised the Taliban's leaders.

"It was astonishing for us because we had already concluded the peace agreement with the American negotiating team," Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban spokesperson in Qatar's capital Doha, told Al Jazeera.







Isis gains traction in Afghanistan as US talks collapse

Taliban hardliners frustrated by prospect of peace join militant group

Minutes after the younger brother of Afghanistan’s Taliban chief rose to lead Friday prayers at a Pakistan mosque last month, a bomb ripped through the building.

The brother of top leader Mullah Habatullah Akhundzada was one of five people killed in an attack police link to Isis’s growing Afghanistan affiliate. The Islamist movement is locked in a fierce rivalry with the Taliban, whose influence straddles the border of the two countries.

A surge of Isis violence this year, including a horrific bombing at a Kabul wedding that killed 63 people in August, and the assault on Taliban leadership has revealed its increasing traction in war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Taliban hardliners angry about negotiations with the US over a troop withdrawal in exchange for counter-terrorism pledges have joined Isis in droves, said experts, raising fears of an Isis resurgence despite it being ousted from its last remnants of territory in Syria this year.

“When Isis started to claim attacks in Kabul, they showcased their power, arms and money,” said Kabir Taneja, from the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. “You need a strong ecosystem to conduct attacks in what the Taliban consider their sacred ground.”

As the Isis affiliate, known as Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), expands from its stronghold in eastern Afghanistan, there is growing concern that it will create a safe haven for terrorists to plot international attacks, recreating the conditions that allowed al-Qaeda to organise the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington 18 years ago.

Isis’s rise comes even as the US and Taliban’s negotiations to end what has become America’s longest-running war appear to have faltered. US President Donald Trump wants troop numbers to be reduced before next year’s US presidential election, but he called off a secret summit at Camp David with the Taliban and Afghan leadership. He later declared the talks dead, putting a question mark over the future of the deal.

The draft accord allowed for almost 5,000 US troops to leave Afghanistan in the next five months as part of a phased withdrawal, leaving 9,000 in return for Taliban counter-terrorism assurances.

Now as America and the Taliban work out their next move, Kabul is going ahead with presidential elections on September 28. A repeat of the 2014 polls, which was mired by accusations of fraud, could lead to further instability.

“It’s an incredibly complex and fluid situation,” said Jonathan Schroden, a military analyst at research organisation CNA. “There is still broad consensus across [Washington] DC and both parties that the only way to get troops out of Afghanistan and protect US interests is through some form of a negotiated settlement.”

https://www.ft.com/content/ae7cd2c2-...4-b5ded7a7fe3f
Reply

سيف الله
09-20-2019, 12:13 AM
Salaam

Like to share.

Blurb

Foxy sits down with the Taliban's High Ranking Commander to talk about Foxy's experience fighting Taliban in Afghanistan.




He shouldnt be surprised at the dismissive attitude shown towards him, given the UKs record.
Reply

سيف الله
09-20-2019, 05:57 PM
Salaam

Americans never learn.

Former Navy SEAL admiral who oversaw bin Laden raid says US has to accept that it's going to be in Afghanistan 'for a very long time'

A draft agreement for peace between the US and the Taliban in Afghanistan got a lot of hopes up late this summer, but the former head of US special operations― most well known for overseeing the mission that ultimately took out Osama Bin Laden — said that making concessions to the extremist group is the wrong move.

Retired Adm. Bill McRaven, now a national security professor at the University of Texas in Austin, likened negotiating with the warlords who control much of Afghanistan's square mileage to sitting down with ISIS, in a discussion Wednesday at the New America Special Operations Forces Policy Forum in Washington.

"And maybe that's not a good comparison," he said. "But I do believe that if we negotiate some sort of settlement with the Taliban, and that settlement involves the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan, that, you know, it won't be six months or a year before all of the blood and treasure we have put into Afghanistan will have been reversed because the Taliban will come back in and do what the Taliban do."

Multiple international news outlets reported in late August and early September that the Taliban and US diplomats had reached an interim peace agreement after nine rounds of peace talks in Qatar.

The deal fell apart just before the 18th anniversary of 9/11, when President Donald Trump canceled a secret meeting with Taliban officials at Camp David, a direct response to the Taliban's car-bombing of an 82nd Airborne Division soldier ― which killed him and 11 others ― days before.

McRaven never agreed with the peace talks to begin with, he said.

"And when you think, particularly of the young ladies and the progress we have made in Afghanistan with building girls' schools and bringing women into the political process," he said. "I mean, these are vastly important for Afghanistan and the region. I'm afraid that clock will be turned back very quickly if we negotiate some sort of settlement with the Taliban that really isn't to our benefit or Afghanistan's benefit."

The interim deal was said to offer a conditional drawdown of troops if the Taliban agreed to stop targeting US troops and took steps to control its districts and reject any other extremist groups who might use the country as a home base to launch an attack against the US.

Even if it had been a success, McRaven said, he believes US involvement in Afghanistan is far from over.

"I've said we have to accept the fact — I think we do — that we're going to be there for a very long time," he said. "Is it forever? I don't think anything's for forever. But does that mean that we will lose more young men and women? Does that mean we're going to spend another billions of dollars? I think it does."

In remarks throughout the year, Trump has lamented US troops' role as police officers and nation builders in Afghanistan. But in McRaven's view, he said, that's what's necessary.

"And people have asked me before, 'Well, we can't be the policemen of the world.' The hell we can't," he said. "I think this is what American leadership is about. You have to recognize that our interests are no longer just in the borders of the United States."

Afghanistan is a country with a long and legendary history of instability, ripe with opportunity for another terrorist group to move in and train freely, the way al-Qaida did before 9/11.

"I think we have an obligation to lead. Because if we don't, who's going to lead? China? Russia? The world wants us to lead," he said. "If we back out of Afghanistan and we don't show the leadership necessary to keep Afghanistan solvent, if you will, I think that'll be a mistake."

The other issue, he added, is that after 18 years, the reason for being there has changed. First it was to hunt down al-Qaida. Then it was to beat back the Taliban, who had harbored them.

But then, over that time, the US helped Afghanistan get a democratic government off the ground, and train its security forces to defend themselves — an undertaking that experts have said they aren't ready to do on their own.

"I think we need to honor that relationship," he said.

And, the likelihood that troops can stay behind as an insurance policy, in a deal that the Taliban will be on board with, sounds far-fetched.

"So, is there an opportunity for us to negotiate with the Taliban, get them to negotiate something that is a win-win? I don't know. I have my doubts on that," he said.

https://www.businessinsider.com/form...19-9?r=US&IR=T

American values. Nice theory, lets see the reality.

Reply

سيف الله
10-11-2019, 11:10 AM
Salaam

Like to share.

Blurb

UNCAGED is a new, no holds barred, fortnightly discussion putting a unique perspective and insight on the War on Terror and the campaign for justice.

In this episode we talk about the Afghan war following 18 years since it first began and an interesting story of when Moazzam met a former Taliban Ambassador who was begged by an American commander!




A look at Afghanistan during the 1990s.

Blurb

What Hope For The Future (1996): Footage and interviews from Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

Reply

سيف الله
10-27-2019, 10:56 AM
Salaam

Another update

Trump confirms US has killed Osama bin Laden's son Hamza

Death of son of the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was reported but not confirmed in July


Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday that the US has killed Hamza bin Laden, a son of the former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden’s death was reported in July but not confirmed by the US government. The New York Times reported then he was killed some time in the last two years.

On Saturday the White House said he was killed in “a United States counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region”. It did not say when or by which US force or agency. It has been reported that the CIA, rather than the US military, may have carried out the strike. The CIA did not comment on Saturday.

Reuters reported that an unnamed US official said Hamza was killed “months ago” and Trump was briefed at the time. The Associated Press cited “a US official familiar with the case” as saying the operation occurred within the past 18 months.

The official did not say what led to bin Laden’s death being announced now.

Bin Laden, who was believed to be aged around 30, had been seeking to lead a resurgence of al-Qaida, which has been eclipsed among jihadist terrorist groups by Islamic State. The US state department designated him as a terrorist in 2017. The US offered a $1m reward for help tracking him down.

“[Al-Qaida was] clearly grooming him to be a next generation successor,” Peter Bergen, director of the international security programme at the New America foundation, told the Guardian in July.

“Ayman al-Zawahiri [al-Qaida’s official leader] hasn’t been a particularly effective leader. He’s got a sort of charisma deficit. And they were trying to put this guy forward.”

On Saturday, using variant spellings of the Bin Laden name, that of the target’s father and the group he led, a statement issued by the White House press secretary read: “Hamza bin Ladin, the high-ranking al-Qa’ida member and son of Usama bin Ladin, was killed in a United States counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region.”

Bin Laden’s death, the statement said, “deprives al-Qa’ida of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father” and “undermines important operational activities of the group”.

The statement added: “Hamza bin Ladin was responsible for planning and dealing with various terrorist groups.”

Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces who raided his compound in Abbottabad, in Pakistan, in 2011.

Hamza bin Laden was the son of Khairiah Sabar, one of the former al-Qaida leader’s three surviving wives who lived with him in the compound. Hamza bin Laden’s last public message came in March 2018, threatening the Saudi Arabian regime. This year, he was stripped of Saudi citizenship.

Trump’s announcement of the death of Hamza bin Laden came three days after the 18th anniversary of the 11 September attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 deaths have been attributed to post-9/11 illnesses.

Last week, Trump announced the abandonment of peace talks between the Taliban, which sheltered al-Qaida leaders in the run-up to 9/11, the US and the Afghan government.

In the week of 9/11 commemorations, a mooted invitation to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, attracted widespread criticism.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...dens-son-hamza
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سيف الله
11-23-2019, 10:56 AM
Salaam

In other breaking news, grass is green, sky is blue and water is wet.



British government and army accused of covering up war crimes

Alleged evidence implicates UK troops in murder of children in Afghanistan and Iraq


The UK government and the British army have been accused of covering up the killing of children in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Leaked documents allegedly contain evidence implicating troops in killing children and the torture of civilians.

A BBC/Sunday Times investigation said it had obtained evidence from inside the Iraq historic allegations team (IHAT), which investigated alleged war crimes committed by British soldiers in Iraq, and Operation Northmoor, which investigated alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

The government closed IHAT and Operation Northmoor in 2017, after Phil Shiner, a solicitor who had taken more than 1,000 cases to IHAT, was struck off from practising law amid allegations he had paid people in Iraq to find clients.

But some former IHAT and Operation Northmoor investigators said Shiner’s actions were used as an excuse to close down the inquiries.

No case investigated by IHAT or Operation Northmoor has led to a prosecution.

An IHAT detective told Panorama: “The Ministry of Defence had no intention of prosecuting any soldier of whatever rank he was unless it was absolutely necessary, and they couldn’t wriggle their way out of it.”

The year-long investigation claims to have found evidence of murders by an SAS soldier, as well as deaths in custody, beatings, torture and sexual abuse of detainees by members of the Black Watch.

A senior SAS commander was referred to prosecutors for attempting to pervert the course of justice, the investigation claims.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “Allegations that the MoD interfered with investigations or prosecution decisions relating to the conduct of UK forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are untrue.

“Throughout the process, the decisions of prosecutors and the investigators have been independent of the MoD and involved external oversight and legal advice.”

The MoD said cases were referred to the independent Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) as a result of investigations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Cases from Iraq were referred as a result of historic investigations. It is untrue to claim cases investigated under Operation Northmoor in Afghanistan were not acted upon. After careful investigation, overseen by a former chief constable, no Northmoor cases were referred to prosecutors,” the spokesman said.

The MoD also said police undertook extensive investigations into allegations about the conduct of UK forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that the SPA decided not to prosecute any of the cases referred to it.

The spokesman said: “Our military served with great courage and professionalism in Iraq and Afghanistan and we hold them to the highest standards. It is government policy that military operations are conducted in accordance with the law of armed conflict and where allegations are raised, they are investigated.

“The Sunday Times’s claims have been passed to the Service Police and the Service Prosecuting Authority who remain open to considering allegations.”

Rachel Logan, of Amnesty International UK, described the reports as “deeply troubling”, adding: “If true, those responsible for sanctioning and carrying out torture and other war crimes, at all levels, must be held accountable and, where appropriate, prosecuted.”

Hilary Meredith, whose firm of solicitors handles compensation claims for injured military personnel, dismissed the allegations as “flawed, baseless and biased” and part of an “ongoing witch-hunt against our brave servicemen and women”.

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019...ghanistan-iraq

Blurb

UNCAGED is a no holds barred, fortnightly discussion putting a unique perspective and insight on the War on Terror and the campaign for justice.

Without accountability there is no justice, and without justice we're left with a world full of injustice. In this episode of UNCAGED we discussed British Army war crimes exposed by the latest Panorama documentary.


Reply

سيف الله
01-06-2020, 02:11 PM
Salaam

Another update

Blurb

At least 14 members of Afghanistan's security forces have been killed in a Taliban attack on a government compound in the north of the country.

That's despite reports suggesting that the group's ruling council had agreed to a ceasefire to help facilitate peace talks with the United States.

But as our Foreign Affairs editor Deborah Haynes reports, persuading fighters on the ground to drop their weapons won't be easy.


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سيف الله
02-09-2020, 06:00 PM
Salaam

Not a new story but more proof if anymore is needed.

Former US drone operator recalls dropping a missile on Afghanistan children and says military is ‘worse than the Nazis’

A former US drone operator is speaking out against the atrocities he says he was forced to inflict during his time in the armed forces and says the American military as ‘worse than the Nazis’.

Brandon Bryant was enlisted in the US Air Force for six years. During his time with the military, he operated Predator drones, remotely firing missiles at targets more than 7,000 miles away from the small room containing his workspace near Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mr Bryant says he reached his breaking point with the US military after killing a child in Afghanistan that his superiors told him was “a dog.” Mr Bryant recalls the moment: After firing a Hellfire missile at a building containing his target, he saw a child exit the building just as the missile struck. When he alerted his superiors about the situation after reviewing the tape, he was told “it was a f***ing dog, drop it.”

Following that incident, Mr Bryant quit the military and began speaking out against the drone program.

During his time in the Air Force, Mr Bryant estimates he contributed directly to killing 13 people himself and says his squadron fired on 1,626 targets including women and children. He says he has been left suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mr Bryant said he saw the man he targeted bleed out from his legs and watched as his body went cold on his thermal imaging screen.

“The smoke clears, and there’s pieces of the two guys around the crater. And there’s this guy over here, and he’s missing his right leg above his knee. He’s holding it, and he’s rolling around, and the blood is squirting out of his leg … It took him a long time to die. I just watched him,” Mr Bryant said in an interview with GQ.

“That image on the screen is still in my head. Whenever I think about it, it still hurts me,” Mr Bryant said. “When I pulled the trigger, I knew that it was wrong. When the middle struck I knew in my soul I had become a murderer.”

Other airmen in Mr Bryant’s squadron celebrated his first kill, saying “Brant’s popped his cherry.”

Mr Bryant was enlisted from 2006 to 2011, working as a sensor operator, which helps direct missiles to their targets.

with the Roots Action Network, Mr Bryant recalled an instance early in his enlistment where he and his fellow drone operators were shown a video montage of drone strikes, after which they were told their jobs were to “kill people and break things.”

“It went against everything that I had ever learned about honor and justice and training. It was terrifying how dismissive people were about the whole affair. We were safe in the U.S. and those over there were not. We win. But that’s not how it goes,” Mr Bryant said.

Mr Bryant said that despite his misgivings about the program, his superiors used punitive measures and mockery to keep him in line.

“It broke my spirit. It went against everything I learned about being a warrior, about holding yourself to higher standards. My superiors psychologically beat me and ridiculed me to keep me in line. They took away my free time and forced me to sit in a seat or be tried under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) for disobeying orders,” Mr Bryant said. “In a sense, it was my prison. I served my time to learn and reflect. And so I hold the key now, to the entire apparatus. I just don’t know what to do with it.”

He has said the US military is “worse than the Nazis” because “we should know better.”

Mr Bryant said he and his family have been threatened for speaking out against the drone program and that he has lost friends and been estranged from other members of his family over his whistle-blowing.

Ultimately Mr Bryant wants the public to understand the dehumanizing effect of the drone program on the operators and the individuals targeted.

“I would want people to know, beyond its existence, the consequences it has on us as a species to delineate our power into something so easily destructive. Every time we get closer to that edge, we’re going to have to realise where it places us,” Mr Bryant said.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a9324011.html
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سيف الله
02-14-2020, 01:26 PM
Salaam

These are the kind of troops you want liberating you right?



The peace talks are back on.

US, Taliban negotiate 7-day reduction in violence: Pentagon

Two warring sides agree to reduce violence as President Donald Trump says a peace agreement was 'very close'.


The United States and the Taliban have secured a seven-day reduction in violence in Afghanistan, Pentagon chief Mark Esper said, raising hopes for a peace agreement to end the 18-year-old war.

"We've said all along that the best, if not the only, solution in Afghanistan is a political agreement. Progress has been made on that front and we'll have more to report on that soon, I hope," Esper told reporters in Brussels on Thursday, dubbing his meetings with NATO colleagues "productive".

Esper did not say when the partial truce would begin but President Donald Trump on Thursday said a peace agreement was "very close".

"I think we're very close," Trump said on a podcast broadcast on iHeart Radio when asked if a tentative deal had been reached. "I think there's a good chance that we'll have a deal ... We're going to know over the next two weeks."

Trump's comments are the latest indication of significant progress in negotiations that the US and the Taliban have been holding since December in the Qatari capital, Doha.

The Pentagon chief said if the process goes forward there would be continuous evaluation of any violence.

"It is our view that seven days, for now, is sufficient but in all things, our approach to this process will be conditions-based, I will say it again, conditions-based," he said.

The US and the Taliban have been locked in gruelling talks that have stretched over more than a year, as the Trump administration seeks an end to the US's longest conflict.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in an armed rebellion launched by the Taliban after it was deposed from power in 2001.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the talks had achieved "a pretty important breakthrough".

Sources say the partial truce could lead to the signing of a US-Taliban peace deal that would see the US pull thousands of troops from Afghanistan, in return the Taliban would provide various security guarantees and launch eventual talks with the Kabul government.

There are about 13,000 US troops as well as thousands of other NATO personnel in Afghanistan, 18 years after a US-led coalition invaded the country following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US.

The news of a potential agreement comes amid continued attacks by the Taliban, who controls about 40 percent of Afghanistan, according to Afghan defence officials.

Last month the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, a US government agency, assessed that there had been a record-high number of attacks by the Taliban and other anti-government forces in the last three months of 2019.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/...153223932.html
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سيف الله
03-29-2020, 07:56 AM
Salaam

More comment on the (hopefully) coming end of US involvement in Afghanistan.



In Allah let the believers place their trust

The deflated tone and demeanour of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in contrast to the beams and triumphalist swagger of his Taliban counterparts, told its own story. For make no mistake about it, last Saturday’s peace accord was a resounding victory for the latter and a clear admission of defeat on the part of the US and her allies. The accumulated claims of victory over 18 years finally giving way to a bleak admission that, once again, a superpower and her proxies had been faced down and defeated by a band of guerrillas armed only with Kalashnikovs and an unshakeable faith in the righteousness of their cause. After almost two decades of slow bleed in the Afghan quagmire the American war machine finally decided it was time for reverse gear.

The Taliban possessed no F-18s. No Apaches. No drones. No satellite imagery. No daisy cutters. No access to advanced medical care or psychiatric counselling for PTSD. Their simple shalwaar kameez (baggy trousers and tunics) uniform a far cry from the elaborate military fatigues of their enemies. Yet despite the multitudinous handicaps their pursuit of freedom from foreign domination and the reestablishment of Islamic law was relentless.

It was the second of these two objectives that especially contributed to prolonging the conflict into a second decade. Spurning repeated offers of political rehabilitation and power sharing the Taliban shura (consultative) council remained unswerving in their twin demands for the reestablishment of the Shariah and the evacuation of all foreign forces. By steadfastly refusing to negotiate with the puppet regime in Kabul and insisting upon direct talks with the Americans – a demand the latter ultimately had no option but to accede to – they provided a stellar example of how to maintain dignity even in extreme adversity. Their bravery and tenacity won them much plaudits from American civilian and military officials reaching all the way up to President Donald Trump himself.

The roots of the present conflict stretched back to the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks; in the days following the toppling of the Twin Towers, the US administration of President George Bush moved swiftly in assigning culpability to the Al Qaeda network and its head Osama bin Laden, then resident in Afghanistan as a guest of the Taliban. Demanding his unconditional handover to American authorities (in contravention of international extraditions norms) President Bush presented the world with a binary choice of pledging fealty to the US or aligning with “the terrorists”, an ultimatum which predictably enough left nations scrambling to declare their ‘unstinting’ support for the world’s sole superpower.

The three nations who had hitherto recognised the Taliban regime as Afghanistan’s legitimate rulers quickly severed all ties. Faced with the looming prospect of a devastating bombardment and ground invasion that would inevitably unseat them from power, many – including many Afghan ulema – advised Taliban leader Mullah Omar (may Allah have mercy upon him) to ‘request the departure of’ (a euphemism for ‘deliverance into American custody’) Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan.

Recognising this for the flagrant betrayal of Islamic and Afghan principles it would be Mullah Omar refused to acquiesce. When confronted by US state propaganda outlet Voice of America with the likely devastating consequences of his refusal, Mullah Omar responded:

“This is not an issue of Osama bin Laden. It is an issue of Islam. Islam’s prestige is at stake. So is Afghanistan’s tradition.”

Mullah Omar understood clearly the implications of kowtowing to American arrogance: the loss of dignity and prestige not only for the Afghan people but also the Muslim ummah at large. Bending the knee to a bully is an act of cowardice, a characteristic of the debased and the effete. It flies in the face of numerous Prophetic guidance.

“O Prophet of Allāh, what about if a man came to me asking for my money (meaning to take it by force).” The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Don’t give him your money.” So, the man said: “What if he fights me?” The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Fight him (back).” The man asked: “What if he kills me?” The Prophet (ﷺ) peace be upon him said: “Then you are a martyr.” The man asked: “What if I kill him?” The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “(Then) he is in the hell-fire.” (Because he is a transgressing oppressor).

[Sahih Muslim]
Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet (ﷺ), peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, the leader is only a shield behind whom they fight and who protects them. If he commands the fear of Allah the Exalted and justice, then he will have a reward. If he commands something else, then it will be against him.” [Sahih Muslim]

Allah’s Messenger gave the metaphor of a shield for the Imam likening it to a means of protection whereas the perfidious tyrants of the Muslim world spared no effort in aiding the Americans in their oppression of the Muslims, placing their airbases, intelligence services and soldiers at their disposal and handing over dozens for incarceration and torture in Bagram and Guantanamo Bay.

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Years of treachery will come over people in which liars are believed and the truthful are denied, the deceitful are trusted and the trustworthy are considered traitors, and the disgraceful will deliver speeches.” It was said, “Who are the disgraceful?” The Prophet said, “Petty men with authority over the common people.” [Sunan Ibn Majah and graded sahih according to Al-Albani]

Mullah Omar (may Allah have mercy upon him) and the Taliban leadership eschewed the sumptuous lifetstyle favoured by most Muslim rulers. They possessed no palaces or mansions – either at home or abroad. No fleets of luxury cars and no foreign bank accounts stashed with the pelf of extortion and grift. Rather they viewed imarah [rulership] in light of the Qur’an and Sunnah – an amanah [trust] that Allah (swt) had vouchsafed them and a duty to the people which they had an obligation to discharge. Their love of Allah (swt), His Messenger (ﷺ) and the believers did not permit them to embrace the enemies of Islam and rendered them impervious to their blandishments.

They chose the sirat al-mustaqeem, the path of the anbiya, the awliya and the shuhada and not the path offered them by Iblis and his allies; a path more often than not beset by hardship and tribulation that tests the mettle of those who traverse it.

“Or think you that you will enter Paradise without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, ‘When (will come) the Help of Allah?’ Yes! Certainly, the Help of Allah is near!” [TMQ 2:214]

The Taliban and Mullah Omar (may Allah have mercy upon him) placed their trust in the promise of Allah (swt) and ignored the censure of the perfidious and the milquetoasts who advocated compromise.
“But, We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.” [TMQ 29:3]

“O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allah, and never afraid of the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knower.” [TMQ 5:54]

They chose the path of Jihad – yes Jihad – and exchanged thereby the ephemeral vanities of this world for the eternal rewards of the hereafter.

“Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Injil and the Qur’an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment.” [TMQ 9:111]

They did not transgress the limits (unlike their enemies or other Muslim groups) of warfare:

“And fight in the Way of Allah those who fight you, but transgress not the limits. Truly, Allah likes not the transgressors.” [TMQ 2:190]

They feared not the disbelievers nor their “might” rather they acknowledged la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah [no might or power except in Allah].

The overbearing arrogance of the Americans and NATO did not faze them in the slightest.

“Indeed, there is for him (Shaitaan) no authority over those who have believed and rely upon their Lord.” [TMQ 16: 99]

When pushed to the limit of endurance they never succumbed to despair for they recalled the words of their Rabb:

“For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.” [TMQ 94:6]
and
“\Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” [TMQ 13:28]

They knew victory would come if they were patient:

“Know that there is much good in being patient with what you detest, victory will come with patience, affliction will come with relief, and ‘with hardship will come with ease.’” [Musnad Ahmed – Sahih]

And that Allah tried those whom he loved:

“If Allah loves a people, then he afflicts them with trials. Whoever is patient has the reward of patience, and whoever is impatient has the fault of impatience.” [Musnad Ahmed – Sahih]
In his Voice of America interview Mullah Omar (may Allah have mercy upon him) stated:

“I am considering two promises. One is the promise of God, the other is that of Bush.”

And as surely as night follows day it was the promise of their Lord that came to pass:

“Allah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me.” [TMQ 24:55]

Amidst the jubilation it should be remembered that last week’s victory came at a huge human cost to the Muslims of Afghanistan. Two generations have grown up knowing only war. Millions have died since 1979 and countless left maimed or crippled. Scarcely a dwelling in the land escaped the baneful grasp of war. We mourn for them and sigh for them as we would our own kin for Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) told us that the Muslims are as one body and the pain of any segment is the pain of the whole. Yet for all of that, for all of the misery, the heartbreak and the desolation the honour of the Afghan people has emerged untarnished, nay brighter and ever more resplendent. The Taliban and the Afghan nation (barring a small cohort of traitors) through their sacrifices brought honour to the pennant of La ilaha ilallah and reaped disgrace upon the standard of kufr. Finally, dawn is upon us and the darkness has begun its inexorable retreat.

May the shuhada of Afghanistan serve as an inspiration to us all. Ameen.

May Allah (swt) bestow his mercy upon Mullah Omar and elevate his rank amongst the martyrs. Ameen.

May the victory in Afghanistan be a portent of greater victories yet to come. Ameen.

May Allah (swt) hasten the return of the Khilafah upon the path of the Prophethood. Ameen.

May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon sayyidina Muhammad. Ameen.

https://maskedavenger1.wordpress.com...e-their-trust/
Reply

سيف الله
04-29-2020, 09:52 AM
Salaam

Another update

Blurb

Muhammad Suhail Shaheen, the official spokesman for the political office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, commonly referred to as the Taliban, answers key questions regarding the current status of the peace negotiations with the US.


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سيف الله
07-12-2020, 09:55 AM
Salaam

Another update.

Blurb

In December 24, 1979, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan.

Leaders of the Soviet Union said they had been invited by Afghanistan's communist leader Babrak Karmal. But the invasion set Afghanistan on a path of decades of conflict - from the Soviet-Afghan War to Moscow's complete withdrawal in the late 1980s, and the eventual collapse of the communist government.

Civil war followed, eventually leading to the Taliban's rise to power.

Once backed by the United States's CIA, the Taliban ruled most of Afghanistan until 2001, when the US-led coalition invaded after the 9/11 attacks, and the group's leadership fled Kabul.

After that, general elections were held in 2004, then 2005, 2009, then 2010, 2014 and 2018.

Afghan politicians squabbled for power and struggled to control large swathes of their own territory. But the Taliban did not recognise the authority of any of the elected governments.

Nearly 20 years later, US forces signed an agreement to withdraw from Afghanistan - on condition that the Taliban will not harbour hardline groups or attack the US and its allies.

The agreement came after nearly seven years of efforts to facilitate political reconciliation between the Taliban, the Afghan government, the US, and other countries after Qatar agreed to open an office for the Taliban where Afghan leaders and western governments could negotiate face-to-face.

But as attacks continue, efforts to arrange intra-Afghan talks have been delayed yet again.

So, what will it take to achieve lasting peace in Afghanistan?


Reply

سيف الله
08-05-2020, 10:50 PM
Salaam

What a surprise.

MoD asked why it withheld evidence on 33 suspected Afghan civilian executions

Cache of documents raises questions about early 2011 killings by SAS soldiers


The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has been ordered by a court to explain why the government withheld evidence suggesting SAS soldiers executed 33 civilians in Afghanistan in early 2011.

The minister has until autumn to explain why key emails and documents revealing official concern about the string of killings were not previously disclosed in a case relating to the deaths of four men from one family in a night raid.

An SAS sergeant-major described the episode as “the latest massacre!” in an email sent the following morning, after the mission report was filed. “I’ve heard a couple of rumours,” the junior officer added, according to documents first revealed by BBC Panorama and the Sunday Times.

Another document revealed that a secret review had been conducted of the suspicious killings and the string of related incidents, where the SAS killed fighting-age men, claiming they had picked up a gun or grenade, often while a search of premises was being carried out.

Covering the period from January to April 2011, the review noted that in three operations 23 people were killed and 10 guns recovered. “In my view there is enough here to convince me that we are getting some things wrong right now,” they wrote.

One SAS commander wrote back to their superiors in London to warn them there was “possibly a deliberate policy” and that the SAS troops had potentially strayed into “indefensible behaviour” that could amount to being “criminal”.

The cache emerged as part of a long-running court hearing brought by Saifullah Yar, whose father, two brothers and a cousin were killed during a raid on a compound in southern Afghanistan.

Yar’s father was killed after being escorted back to his house by the SAS, who claimed he had grabbed a grenade; his cousin was also killed in the house after he allegedly picked up an assault rifle.

His two brothers were killed outside the compound. Despite allegations they were also armed with a grenade and an assault rifle, the family says no one in the household had such weapons.

UK government lawyers had previously argued that the Ministry of Defence was unaware of any complaints about the killings until the Yar family first brought a legal complaint in 2013 – a claim contradicted by the latest set of disclosures.

The case was investigated by military police from March 2014 and formed part of the expanded Operation Northmoor investigation into 675 alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. No charges have ever been brought in the case of the Yar family.

Tessa Gregory, a lawyer for Leigh Day, who acts for Yar, said her client wanted to discover what had happened over 9 years ago. “What has been revealed substantially adds to our client’s concern that there has been a cover up and it has left him more determined than ever to find out the truth of what happened to his loved ones.”

Last November, it emerged that the military police had interviewed 54 soldiers who had been involved in the operation that led to the Yar family killings. At that time government lawyers said: “None of those personnel could specifically remember the operation under question.”

The SNP said the documents revealed in court amounted to “allegations of war crimes” and the party’s defence spokesperson, Stewart McDonald, said they raised serious questions for Wallace as they appeared to suggest that “the SAS was employing a ‘deliberate policy’ to shoot dead unarmed men in such night raids”.

“It is now clear that when ministers have repeatedly told parliament that credible evidence doesn’t exist, that that credible evidence doesn’t just exist but it has been sitting in the Ministry of Defence the entire time,” the McDonald said.

The MoD said “this is not new evidence”, adding the case had already been investigated by police as part of Northmoor and reviewed on four separate occasions by an independent team.

“These documents were considered as part of the independent investigations, which concluded there was insufficient evidence to refer the case for prosecution,” a spokesperson said.

“The service police and the service prosecuting authority of course remain open to considering allegations should new evidence, intelligence or information come to light.”

Operation Northmoor was shut down in June by ministers without anybody being prosecuted; the veterans minister Johnny Mercer said: “I’ve said this government is going to war on lawfare, and I meant it.”

Ministers are planning to bring in a bill that would introduce a near amnesty against prosecution for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and any another conflict abroad from more than five years earlier. The legislation is expected in the autumn.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...s-sas-soldiers

More and more it comes out.

Reply

سيف الله
09-14-2020, 07:56 PM
Salaam

Good news, looks like the end of the conflict is in sight.

Blurb

It has been 19 years since the September 11 attacks in the United States. Almost 3,000 people were killed, and the lives of many more were changed forever. Memorials have been held across the country. And this year, crowds were limited for the first time due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Al Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey reports.




More analysis and comment.
















Remember this?



Obvious lessons for anybody who knows their history.







Dark humour.

Reply

William Wallace
09-24-2020, 04:00 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Junon
Salaam

Another update, Trump being at his diplomatic best.





Pakistan-US Cooperation ‘Has Rekindled Hope’ for Afghan Peace


Pakistan said Tuesday its cooperation in facilitating ongoing peace talks between the United States and the Taliban to end the war in Afghanistan has led to a “gradual warming up” in Islamabad’s turbulent relationship with Washington.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made the remarks just days before Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is scheduled to visit Washington for his first meeting with President Donald Trump.

Qureshi told a seminar Khan’s visit to the U.S. is aimed at seeking a “broader” bilateral engagement, although he acknowledged the Afghan peace process will figure prominently at the White House meeting set for July 22. He said that Trump’s invitation to Khan underscored the “inherent importance of the relationship” for both the countries.

“It will, therefore, be appropriate to work for broader engagement from Afghanistan to bilateral issues, economic and trade cooperation to peace and stability in South Asia,” Qureshi stressed.

It is widely believed that Trump’s invitation to Khan stemmed from recent “substantial” progress in months-long peace negotiations between the U.S. and representatives of the Afghan Taliban to find a political settlement to the 18-year-old Afghan war, the longest U.S. foreign military intervention.

Islamabad takes credited for arranging the U.S.-Taliban talks that started nearly a year ago.

“Pakistan has welcomed President Trump’s farsighted decision to pursue a political solution in Afghanistan, which in fact was an endorsement of our own position espoused for a long time,” Qureshi told a seminar in Islamabad.

Qureshi insisted his government has been facilitating the U.S.-Taliban talks in “good faith” and as a “shared responsibility” to promote regional peace and security.

“The convergence in Pakistan and U.S. polices on Afghanistan has rekindled hope for resolution of the protracted Afghan conflict that has only brought misery and despondency to the region,” the foreign minister stressed.

Qureshi said that besides the “one-on-one” interaction between Trump and Khan, “there will be a restrictive meeting” where the Pakistani political and military leadership will engage with U.S. counterparts before the extended delegation-level talks are held.

Pakistani military chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the head of the country’s spy agency will both accompany Khan during the visit, officials said.

Rollercoaster ties

Pakistan’s usually rollercoaster relations with the U.S. had plunged to historic lows since Trump took office in 2017 and suspended all military assistance to the country.

The American president has accused Islamabad of harboring militant groups U.S. forces are fighting in Afghanistan, despite having received billions of dollars in assistance, saying Pakistan has given Washington "nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools.”

Pakistan rejects the charges and maintains it has suffered tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties as well as and billions of dollars in losses to the national economy because of a militant backlash for joining the U.S. “war on terror.”

Pakistan-India tensions


Qureshi also Tuesday hailed an active role the U.S. played in defusing Pakistan's tensions with rival India in February when the two nuclear-armed neighboring countries came close to another war over the disputed Kashmir region.

“We hope that the leadership of the two countries in Washington can agree on the imperative of resuming a sustained and result-oriented dialogue between Pakistan and India aimed at peacefully resolving all disputes. We are confident that this visit will help in ushering an era of stability and prosperity in South Asia and the broader region."

https://www.voanews.com/south-centra...e-afghan-peace

Edit -


You admire Trump ?
Reply

سيف الله
11-26-2020, 05:41 PM
Salaam

Look back at history.

Blurb

Afghan Jihad (1979): A look back at the mujahiddin who fought the Soviet-backed government of Afghanistan with US support, and who then fought against the NATO forces who invaded in 2001

In 1979 the mujahiddin of Afghanistan rebelled against an Soviet-backed central government. The US threw its financial and technological resources behind the rebel movement, offering support in any way it could. We travel into the remote Kumar Valley and find that back in 1979 the US was arming the likes Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and his organisation Hizb-e-Islamia - the very group now waging a vicious counter insurgency against Allied forces.


Reply

سيف الله
01-26-2021, 09:42 PM
Salaam

Like to share



Reply

سيف الله
04-13-2021, 06:39 AM
Salaam

Another perspective, like to share.



Blurb

Afghanistan has been plagued by nearly 5 decades of constant warfare. The violence and bloodshed seem never-ending. But what lessons can we learn from the conflict? What can we learn from war and conflict in Afghanistan?

We are joined in this conversation by Sangar Paykhar, a guest lecturer in the Netherlands, and a cross-cultural communications expert. Sangar also hosts a podcast discussing issues and current affairs in Afghanistan, The Afghan Eye Podcast.


Reply

سيف الله
05-02-2021, 01:09 AM
Salaam

Another update

EXCLUSIVE As U.S. prepared exit, Taliban protected foreign bases, but killed Afghans

Taliban fighters have protected western military bases in Afghanistan from attacks by rival, or rogue Islamist groups for over a year under a secret annex to a pact for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces by May 1, three Western officials with knowledge of the agreement told Reuters.

The U.S. State Department gave no immediate response to Reuters over the existence of any such document. Nor did it have any immediate comment on what the three officials described as a "Taliban ring of protection".

Since United States struck a deal with the Taliban in February 2020, paving the way for America to end its longest war, there have been no U.S. combat deaths, and there have been only isolated attacks on U.S. bases.

Instead, the Taliban intensified attacks on Afghan government forces, and civilian casualties have spiralled.

Peace talks between the militants and the government, begun in September, have made no significant progress, and a U.N. report said civilian casualties were up 45% in the last three months of 2020 from a year earlier.

Testing Taliban patience, U.S. President Joe Biden served notice that the U.S. withdrawal would overshoot the May 1 deadline agreed by the previous U.S. administration, while giving an assurance that it would be completed by Sept. 11 - the 20th anniversary of the al Qaeda attacks on the United States.

When the deadline passes on Saturday, around 2,000 U.S. troops will still be in Afghanistan, according to a western security official in Kabul. The commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan, U.S. Army General Scott Miller earlier this week said an orderly withdrawal and the handing over of military bases and equipment to Afghan forces had begun.

Afghan soldiers left manning those bases could need plenty of firepower to resist any offensive by Taliban fighters who have been occupying strategic positions in surrounding areas.

In the past two weeks alone, the militants have killed more than 100 Afghan security personnel in a surge of attacks that followed Biden's announcement that a U.S. withdrawal would take a few months more.

Two of the Western officials said Washington had accepted the Taliban's offer to shield the western military bases from attacks by the likes of Islamic State.

The officials said the Taliban had wanted to demonstrate good faith by meeting a commitment to ensure Afghan soil was not used for attacks on U.S. interests - a key U.S. demand in the February agreement.

"They provided a layer of cover, almost like a buffer and ordered their fighters to not injure or kill any foreign soldier in this period," said one western diplomat involved in the process.

The western officials said it was also important for the Taliban to show its ability to control the more recalcitrant factions in its movement, like the Haqqani network, which has often followed its own agenda, though its leader Sirajuddin Haqqani is the second-highest ranking commander in the Taliban.

A Kabul-based western security official said that militants had kept their side of the bargain.

"The Taliban swiftly responded to even minor attacks conducted by the Haqqani network and Islamic State fighters around the bases," he said.

DEADLINE SATURDAY

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid declined to comment on the so-called "ring of protection" agreement.

More broadly, he said no security guarantee has been given to the United States beyond Saturday's deadline, but talks were underway among the group's leadership and with the U.S. side.

"So far our commitment of not attacking the foreign forces is until May 1, after that whether we will attack or not is an issue under discussion," said Mujahid.

Mullah Baradar, the Taliban's deputy political chief, held talks with U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad to discuss the peace process on Thursday, another militant spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, said in a Twitter post.

Clearly having the militants holding positions around Western bases presents a danger if no understanding is reached.

"They've definitely moved ever closer to a lot of Afghan and foreign bases," said Ashley Jackson, co-director of the Centre for the Study of Armed Groups at Overseas Development Institute, a London-based think-tank.

"Encircling U.S., NATO, and Afghan bases seems like the Taliban strategy to poise themselves to take over when foreign forces leave."

Afghan defence ministry spokesman Fawad Aman said the Taliban had ramped up violence against the Afghan people and their government, while holding fire against foreign forces.

More than 3,000 Afghan civilians were killed and almost 5,800 were wounded in 2020, according to a United Nation report.

"By not attacking the foreign forces but continuously targeting the Afghan security forces and civilians, the Taliban have shown that they are fighting against the people of Afghanistan," Aman said.

Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Programme at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, sympathised with that view, saying: “they have every right to lambaste a U.S.-Taliban agreement for failing to bring a semblance of relief to Afghans themselves.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...ns-2021-04-30/
Reply

سيف الله
08-14-2021, 04:54 PM
Salaam

Another update, With the Americans and co finally leaving - their client regime is collapsing.

Long but very good analysis.





Taliban perspective



More Muslim perspectives.





Western perspectives, shedding crocodile tears and making their usual excuses, cant bring themselves to admit they had no chance in the first place.

All the Afghan, British and American lives lost and the decades spent bogged down in the conflict.

Now the speed of the allies' hasty retreat is matched only by the Taliban offensive, as city after city falls to their control.

And that's unlikely to end well.




Plenty see through the rhetoric



Imagine my shock and surprise



Western installed elite are packing up their bags.



Medhi Hasan what a shapeshifter he is. Well at tleast the mask has come off.





Remember this?



Taxpayers money well spent.





Talibs secret weapon



Some see sense



Current situation.



Reply

Singularity
08-15-2021, 09:13 PM
https://www.yahoo.com/news/taliban-d...172049750.html Taliban will declare the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in resounding defeat of the US-backed governmentJake LahutSun, August 15, 2021, 10:20 AM·2 min reaPresident of AfghanistanThe Taliban flag. AP Photo/Gulabuddin AmiriThe Taliban plans on renaming Afghanistan in a ceremony at the presidential palace.A Taliban official announced they will declare the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.Only a handful of countries recognized the regime under the same name from 1996 to 2001.See more stories on Insider's business page.The Taliban will declare the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the presidential palace in Kabul, a Taliban official announced on Sunday.The official spoke under the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, according to the Associated Press.From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban ruled the country under the same name. Only a handful of countries recognized the regime, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkmenistan.The situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated rapidly amid the final withdrawal of American and NATO troops, with the Taliban making its final move to take over the capital in Kabul after conquering a series of provincial ones.Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country after the Taliban advanced on the capital, with the group later taking the presidential palace.US citizens in Kabul were instructed to shelter in place by the State Department, with reports of the airport taking fire.During the five-year reign of the previous Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban imposed a strict interpretation of Sharia law nationwide. These included significant restrictions on women, who were not allowed to leave their homes without a male companion and were required to be fully covered from head to feet when in public.The Taliban has always used the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in its official communications.International recognition for the Emirate of Afghanistan was minimal from 1996 to 2001 beyond the handful of countries, with the United Nations instead choosing to recognize the exiled Islamic State of Afghanistan.Afghan leaders have created a "coordination council" to meet with the Taliban for coordinating a transfer of power, according to the AP
Reply

IslamLife00
08-17-2021, 05:34 AM
Can you post link to Mehdi Hasan tweets again? It didn't open

edit : I will find his twitter inshaAllah it should show up in search as he is public figure. I'm just surprised as I thought he is on the muslim side
Reply

SoldierAmatUllah
08-17-2021, 07:52 AM
"I say US & its allies are not going to tolerate our Islamic Emirates,they are going to keep pestering in affairs of Muslim Ummah and they are nevertheless advised to keep themselves under control with dignified behaviour this time"

-Muhajira ILa Afghanistan
Reply

SoldierAmatUllah
08-17-2021, 07:57 AM
What a feeling that peace & justice is restored- hopefully it happens for all muslims around the world.

Thank you Mujahideen brothers!
Reply

SoldierAmatUllah
08-17-2021, 10:52 AM
Edited
Reply

سيف الله
08-17-2021, 10:17 PM
Salaam




Iconic images.



Prayers.



Now its time to win the peace.



American reaction.

The Scale of Humiliation

Mark Steyn observes that the astonishingly rapid victory of the Taliban may be the Imperial USA’s Suez moment and that the scale of the global humiliation is almost off the charts.

The scale of America’s global humiliation is so total that I see my friends at Fox News cannot even bear to cover it. As I write, every other world network – the BBC, Deutsche Welle, France 24, not to mention the Chinese – is broadcasting the collapse of the American regime in real time; on Fox, meanwhile, they’re talking about the spending bill and the third Covid shot and the dead Haitians …as if the totality of the defeat is such that for once it cannot be fixed into the American right’s usual consolations (“well, this positions us pretty nicely for 2022”).

On the leftie side, of course, the court eunuchs have risen as one to protect the Dementia Kid, and are working as hurriedly as the Kabul document-shredders in an effort to figure out a way to blame it all on Trump.

But don’t for a moment think this is just some rushed, bungled, memo-incinerating abandonment of the US embassy. State Department diplomats have been preparing this move all summer, under cover of a highly sophisticated deflection operation on their Kabul Twitter feed:

The month of June is recognized as (LGBTI) Pride Month. The United States respects the dignity & equality of LGBTI people & celebrates their contributions to the society. We remain committed to supporting civil rights of minorities, including LGBTI persons. #Pride2021 #PrideMonth

I do hope they’ve managed to evacuate the embassy’s LGBTQWERTY flag before the sacking commences.

America is not “too big to fail”: It’s failing by almost every metric right now. The world-record brokey-brokey-brokeness manifested by the current spending bills is only possible because the US dollar is the global currency. When that ends, we’re Weimar with smartphones. Clearly, Chairman Xi and his allies occasionally muse on the best moment to yank the dollar out from under. If you were in Beijing watching telly today, would you perhaps be considering advancing those plans?

In other words, is this not merely a humiliation but America’s Suez moment? In my bestseller After America, I recalled a long-ago conversation with the Countess of Avon (Clarissa Churchill, Winston’s niece, widow of the then prime minister Anthony Eden – and still with us at the splendid age of 101). Somewhere along the way, Lady Avon observed ruefully that the eight days of the Suez crisis in late 1956 marked the great divide between the words “British Empire” being still taken seriously and their being a sneering punchline.

The last eight days may well do the same for the term “global superpower”.
Steyn alludes to, but avoids stating, what is entirely obvious to any historically literate observer. This catastrophic defeat was the neoclowns’ war. This was not America’s failure, it was the failure of the self-styled “national security right” who flattered themselves into believing that they dictated reality with their words. Afghanistan is the neocons’ failure. It is AIPAC’s failure. Genuine Americans never wanted, supported, or endorsed the concept of an empire in the Middle East.

https://voxday.net/



One reason why the Afghanistan conflict was prolonged for so long - so the international elite could launder their money through Contracts in Afghanistan - no wonder they want him dead.







Reply

سيف الله
08-17-2021, 11:19 PM
Salaam

More comment and analysis.

What will the second Taliban emirate look like?

Veteran journalist Abdel Bari Atwan says the new Taliban government in Afghanistan will be focused on pragmatic state-building, but risks of a new civil war instigated by foreign powers remain.

On Saturday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani gave a speech praising the high morale of his army’s troops. On Sunday, he fled by helicopter to Tajikistan and became the former president. By Monday, Taliban commanders were seated at his desk in the presidential palace in Kabul.

There was no handover of power, there was a collapse and an armed takeover by the victorious Taliban. Agree with them or not, they stood firm for 20 years against the mightiest power in history, and turned it into the third empire (after the British and the Russian) to sip the bitter cup of defeat at the hands of the Afghan people’s resistance.

Equally humiliated were all the American military analysts who predicted that the Afghan army would hold out at least for a few months after the withdrawal of remaining U.S. forces in September and that Kabul would resist the Taliban advance.

But the army and state institutions disintegrated and the capital fell almost without a fight. Its skies were soon crowded with giant helicopters evacuating American diplomats and citizens, but not the Afghan military chiefs and politicians who collaborated with them and were left behind to their fate.

The same scenes we saw in Saigon after the American defeat in Vietnam were replayed in Kabul on Monday. All the traffic was in one direction: heading for the airport to find a flight on which to flee the city after the Taliban seized control of all the roads. But the number of planes was limited, and they were mostly reserved for people with white American and European skins.

The U.S. failed to build a strong and modern Afghan army, the same failure as in all other countries it invaded from Iraq to Libya to Vietnam. That explains its shockingly quick collapse after the U.S. spent more than $90 billion forming and training it, and perhaps double that amount arming it, to fight a poorly equipped popular militia.

The reasons for that failure are not hard to fathom. Every puppet army created by an invading power has suffered the same fate, from Antoine Lahd’s so-called South Lebanon Army to the Afghan National Defence and Security Force now.

What cause do such armies and their commanders fight for? To protect their country’s foreign occupiers? To retain privileges and make financial gains? Even the latter was little incentive for members of the ANDSF who were poorly paid, fed and treated. Tens of thousands sold their weapons or defected to the Taliban. We should not be surprised if their commanders end up selling Afghan kebabs from stalls in the U.S. like their SLA counterparts.

There are countries like Afghanistan and Yemen that are easy to invade but difficult to remain in, due to a combination of the pride, resilience and fighting spirit of their people and the ruggedness of their terrain. Invaders inevitably suffer tragic and humiliating defeat, as we have been witnessing again in Kabul.

Tough questions

The tough questions being asked now – especially in the six countries neighbouring Afghanistan – are about how things will unfold in the months and years to come, and which camp will the soon-to-be-formed Second Taliban Emirate stand in. There are no easy answers, but a number of factors need to be considered.

First, Al-Qaida in its former guise will not be returning to Afghanistan. Its leader Osama Bin-Laden was assassinated by the Americans. Mullah Muhammad Omar, the former Taliban leader who gave him sanctuary in gratitude for the sacrifices made by the Arab mujahideen, is also dead.

Afghanistan’s new rulers will be much more concerned to gain regional and international support for their legitimacy and state. But it cannot be ruled out that a new terrorist group may emerge under the auspices of the U.S., using the grievances of the Uyghur minority in China to recruit jihadists.

Secondly, there is a risk of renewed sectarian or ethnic civil war. Regional powers like Iran, Russia, India and Turkey – not to mention the U.S. and China – may try to exploit differences between religious, tribal or ethnic groups to play out their rivalries. The Taliban have tried to reassure most of these powers by sending envoys to their capitals. A delegation was in Beijing earlier this month to affirm that a Taliban-led government would not allow any foreign power (meaning the U.S.) to use Afghan territory to destabilise China or support Uyghur militants.

Third, both Russia and Iran discretely provided support to the Taliban, including funds and weapons, in their war against the U.S. occupation. The movement is unlikely to join any alliances against them, or to alienate Russia by destabilising Tajikistan or Iran by persecuting the Shia.

Finally, the Taliban’s founder and principal sponsor and ally is Pakistan. They can be expected to be guided by Islamabad’s geopolitical compass and follow its lead in forging alliances. At present, Pakistan has strong relations with both Iran and Turkey and stands in the same trench as China (which is why the U.S. drastically cut its aid to the country).

U.S. media reports of a power-struggle between rival wings of the Taliban are probably wishful thinking. The movement appears united under Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar and there are no sign of internal splits.

We cannot foretell what might happen in future, but that could well depend on what the U.S. does. If it opts to wreak military revenge on the Taliban, the entire movement could transform into a new Al-Qaida and take the battle to America and its presence and bases worldwide.

https://5pillarsuk.com/2021/08/17/wh...ate-look-like/

More comment and analysis

The Taliban and the new Afghanistan | The Big Picture

The US/UK have suffered theIr worst military defeat in decades at the hands of the Taliban. So what is the West's legacy in Afghanistan and what does the future hold for the nation? Join us at 6.30pm on Monday August 16 with guests Moazzam Begg and Yvonne Ridley.



Taliban are Victorious: Weekly Q&A w/ Bilal Abdul Kareem



More comment.

Reply

سيف الله
08-18-2021, 11:25 PM
Salaam

Western media have launched a PR campaign against the Taliban.

MEDIA WAR WITH THE TALIBAN

Agree or disagree with them, we need to make sure the news we get it honest and balanced. Let us make up our own minds.




The seculars and their variants have all gone into collective meltdown, amusing to watch - to summarise their position.



Reply

Karl
08-20-2021, 02:30 AM
The Taliban seem to be doing well. Will they have a Caliphate? Some other Emirates seem to be very Zionist and sycophantic to the West and become very Cultural Marxist. Will the Taliban get rid of all those Cultural Marxists and fake Christian social engineering organisations of the globalist liberal tyranny (aka "The international community")? This includes NGOs such as Tear Fund, World Vision, Save The Children, Doctors Without Borders etc etc? I heard on Aljoozeera the Taliban were negotiating with UNECEF and allowing them to stay. So is the fox still in the hen house?
Reply

JAM_Here
08-20-2021, 11:37 AM
Salaam

I suppose it is time to treat prisoners with fairness.
Reply

سيف الله
08-20-2021, 01:37 PM
Salaam

format_quote Originally Posted by Karl
The Taliban seem to be doing well. Will they have a Caliphate? Some other Emirates seem to be very Zionist and sycophantic to the West and become very Cultural Marxist. Will the Taliban get rid of all those Cultural Marxists and fake Christian social engineering organisations of the globalist liberal tyranny (aka "The international community")? This includes NGOs such as Tear Fund, World Vision, Save The Children, Doctors Without Borders etc etc? I heard on Aljoozeera the Taliban were negotiating with UNECEF and allowing them to stay. So is the fox still in the hen house?
No it will be a Emirate - they have endured 40 years of conflict - they want peace, stablity and law and order, time to rebuild. They will need outside help intitally but hopefully they will be able to stand on their own two feet in time and not become too dependent on others.





Meanwhile





Wont be seeing this on mainstream news.

Reply

SoldierAmatUllah
08-20-2021, 06:51 PM
What is Paki PM saying -his stance?
Reply

سيف الله
08-21-2021, 10:33 PM
Salaam

Hes happy with the current state of affairs, Imran Khan has said numerous times over the past decade + that a POLITICAL not miliatry solution between the various groups in Afghanistan is the only way forward.












Reply

سيف الله
08-21-2021, 10:54 PM
Salaam

Ha ha ha Ha Ha HA HA HA HA - the pathetic Bliar gives his 'considered' opinion.




Afghanistan: Tony Blair slams President Biden for 'imbecilic' military pullout and says crisis risks relegating UK to 'second division of global powers'

The former prime minister, who sent British troops into Afghanistan in 2001, said the "abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous [and] unnecessary".


Tony Blair has dramatically broken his silence over the crisis in Afghanistan by accusing President Biden of an "imbecilic" decision to pull out US troops. In a controversial verdict on the unfolding tragedy, he also claims the crisis reveals that the UK risks being relegated to "the second division of global powers". He blames Britain being "out of Europe and "little or no consultation" by "our greatest ally", the United States, for the UK's declining influence in the world.

And in a brutal attack on President Biden's abrupt withdrawal of US troops, he claims it is obvious that the decision to withdraw was not driven by grand strategy but by politics. "We didn't need to do it," Mr Blair writes. "We chose to do it. We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars'." His attacks - especially his reference to Brexit - may delight his supporters but will infuriate critics, who will claim his record on Iraq and Afghanistan has left him discredited

The hard-hitting assessment of the Taliban takeover by Mr Blair, who as PM also sent British troops into Afghanistan in 2001, comes in a lengthy article for his Institute for Global Change.

"The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours," the former PM writes.

"As the leader of our country when we took the decision to join America in removing the Taliban from power, and who saw the high hopes we had of what we could achieve for the people and the world, subside under the weight of bitter reality, I know better than most how difficult are the decisions of leadership and how easy it is to be critical and how hard to be constructive."

In his attack on President Biden, Mr Blair writes: "Russia, China and Iran will see and take advantage. Anyone given commitments by Western Leaders will understandably regard them as unstable currency.

"We did it because our politics seemed to demand it. And that's the worry of our allies and the source of rejoicing in those who wish us ill. They think Western politics is broken."

In criticism aimed at Donald Trump as well as President Biden, Mr Blair claims "the deep politicisation of foreign policy and security issues" is weakening American power.n He adds: "And for Britain, out of Europe and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation, we have serious reflection to do.

"We don't see it yet. But we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers. Maybe we don't mind. But we should at least take the decision deliberatively."

He adds: "If the West wants to shape the 21st Century it will take commitment. Through thick and thin. When it's rough as well as easy. Making sure allies have confidence and opponents caution.

"It will require parts of the right in politics to understand that isolation in an interconnected world is self-defeating; and parts of the left to accept that intervention can sometimes be necessary to uphold our values."

On what needs to happen now, Mr Blair writes: "We must evacuate and give sanctuary to those to whom we have responsibility - those Afghans who helped us and stood by us and have a right to demand we stand by them.

"There must be no repetition of arbitrary deadlines. We have a moral obligation to keep at it until all those who need to be are evacuated. And we should do so not grudgingly but out of a deep sense of humanity and responsibility.

"We need then to work out a means of dealing with the Taliban and exerting maximum pressure on them. This is not as empty as it seems. We have given up much of our leverage, but we retain some.

"The Taliban will face very difficult decisions and likely divide deeply over them. The country, its finances and its public sector workforce are significantly dependent on aid notably from the USA, Japan, the UK and others. The average age of the population is 18. A majority of Afghans have known freedom and not known the Taliban regime. They will not all conform quietly." And turning to what Mr Johnson must do, he adds: "The UK as the current G7 chair should convene a Contact Group of the G7 and other key nations and commit to coordinating help to the Afghan people and holding the new regime to account. NATO - which has had 8,000 troops still in Afghanistan alongside the USA - and Europe should be brought fully into cooperation under this grouping.

"We need to draw up a list of incentives, sanctions, actions we can take including to protect the civilian population so the Taliban understand their actions will have consequences. This is urgent."

https://news.sky.com/story/afghanist...owers-12387017

Amazing this warmongering clown can say this all with a straightface. Mind you some tidbits of truth - His thinking on Islam and Muslims similiar to this



He sees the writing on the wall - Hes also worried about

  • Relegation of the UK to 'second division of global powers' - true but thats been happening for some time (particularly after Suez)
  • His legacy - Yes its ruined


A reminder of his record



Ahhh perhaps this why hes upset with the current situation.

Reply

Silas
08-21-2021, 11:18 PM
Everyone needs to remember that the Taliban financed its "Jihad" by selling Ephedra (used to make meth amphetamine) and heroin.

Afghanistan is not going to be some fundamentalist Islamic state. It will be a lawless narco-state ruled by brutal men who have misinterpreted both the Quran and many Hadiths, and who brutalize and kill innocent Muslims.

That being said, the Afghans should be able to run their country without foreign interference, and the US has no business there.
Reply

سيف الله
08-22-2021, 08:24 AM
Salaam

I could believe that, but currently Taliban are in the process of banning drug production.



And they banned it in the past (before the invasion 2001).

The rest of your post is standard western propaganda we've been fed for decades, (no wonder they were defeated).







Listen to people who actually live (or have lived) there.







This country has been in conflict for +40 years Its been devastated, what do you expect? It will take a long time but hopefully peace and prosperity will be the result.

Your right about Americans and their hangers on leaving, good riddance.

No more social engineering programs. (Yeah I know its Tucker but he has a point)





No more having your country being used as the testing ground for advanced weapons



No more having to live under the shadow of the Drone, dealing with American lead or backed deathsquads





Australian ver



or dealing with loons like this



Some honesty.



Sanity

Reply

keiv
08-22-2021, 06:37 PM
Take this for what you will, but here is another Muslims assessment of the Taliban from years ago.

Reply

سيف الله
08-23-2021, 09:20 PM
Salaam

Surprise surprise.



Facebook bans Muslim accounts for merely mentioning Taliban


Facebook and Instagram are censuring or banning prominent Muslim accounts for merely mentioning the Taliban while mainstream media accounts remain free to talk about the group.

Since the Taliban has been trending in the news during its takeover of Afghanistan, Facebook has censured numerous accounts which have spoken about the group which it considers be a “terrorist organisation.”

Those censured have included both 5Pillars editors – Roshan Muhammed Salih and Dilly Hussain – who received violations from Facebook for merely mentioning the group in posts rather than supporting them.

Facebook has also censured or banned many other Muslim activists and pages for talking about the group rather than supporting it. This appears to be happening at the same time as mainstream media organisations face no such censorship.

Facebook says it designates the Taliban “a terrorist group” and bans it from its platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp.

The U.S. State Department does not list the Afghan Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation like it does the Pakistani Taliban. But Washington does sanction the group as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” which freezes the U.S. assets of those blacklisted and bars Americans from working with them.

“They will not be allowed while they are proscribed by the U.S. law and even if they were not proscribed by U.S. law, we would have to do a policy analysis on whether or not they nevertheless violate our dangerous organisations policy,” Facebook’s vice president of content policy Monika Bickert told reporters.

Censorship of Muslims

The Islamify account on Instagram, which has 1.3 million followers, said Instagram had unjustly censured its content and warned it that its account could be deleted.

Islamify said: “Our last post was unjustly removed by Istagram, with false accusations that it promotes violence and dangerous organisations. The deleted post contained content sources from major news platforms and did not show support or promote violence or any form of terrorism. This isn’t the first time Instagram has been deleting our content. Last month Instagram deleted a post about fasting on the Day of Arafah.”

Meanwhile, the Muslim Daily account, with 520,000 followers on Instagram, was deleted.

They said: “During the Gaza war and attacks on Al-Aqsa we had dozens of posts removed that didn’t actually violate any guidelines and was threatened with account deletion. I did not post anything in support of Hamas actions, only posted from a neutral and factual viewpoint, many things were the same content we see on mainstream news channels…

“I also made a post on Afghanistan (nothing graphic) and spoke about the media silence on Afghan forces war crimes, such as the bombing of hospitals and clinics, and killing of civilians on both sides.

“Since the war in Gaza I’ve been shadowbanned too, thousands of my followers messaged me to say when they search for my username the account never comes up. Now the account has been disabled.”

Muslim journalist and Afghanistan expert Yvonne Ridley said she was shocked to discover that her page had breached community standards.

“I ticked the box disagreeing and it was reinstalled again. the article which appeared to offend was a 2,000 word essay examining the position of Afghan women over 45 years – when it comes to women’s rights it made grim reading but was sourced and based on government statistics. I thought I’d woken up in Pyongyang!

“I’ve read and heard plenty about this sort of censorship on the social networks and, in truth, I’ve never got steamed up about it before, but when it happens to you, you suddenly realise that this sort of ‘Big Brother’ attention is disconcerting. Don’t be like me and sit back complacent, and do nothing until it happens to you.”

The Documenting Oppression Against Muslims (DOAM) pages have also been censured on a regular basis.

DOAM said: “Ever since we started DOAM project in 2014, we’ve been deliberately targeted and constantly being censored by social media platforms simply because we are exposing oppression/hate crimes against Muslims worldwide.

“In 2017, our Facebook page with over 400,000 followers was taken down with no reason. We’ve been constantly ‘shadowbanned’ on Facebook where for a period of time our posts almost have 0 reach even though we have over 170,000 followers. We only noticed this when our followers contacted us reporting that our posts are not appearing on their news feeds. Only viewable by going directly to the page.

“On Instagram, we have been shadowbanned many times over the years where users are unable to like our posts or unable to find our page via search. None of the posts would be visible in the hashtags. In May 2021, Instagram disabled our account after raising awareness about forced evictions of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah and attacks on Al Aqsa mosque. Instagram reinstated our account after a public campaign and outrage.

“Instagram has again disabled our account recently after we posted about the Algerian Judoka Fethi Nourine who withdrew from the Olympics to avoid playing against Israeli competitor.

“Our Twitter account with 46,000 followers has been permanently marked as sensitive as a result of mass reporting and certain governments wanting to take down our content. We can’t even appeal their decision. You know what’s strange? The content we post is also widely available on these social media platforms by mainstream media outlets.

“Over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that these platforms don’t want Muslim organisations to succeed as we control the narrative and they’ll do everything they can to silence you.”

Muslim activist Majid Freeman also had his account disabled.

He said: “Unfortunately my Instagram page and many other prominent Muslim pages who have been vocal in speaking out for the oppressed have been silenced by social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

“Facebook deleted my page last year which had over 100k followers. My Facebook page was removed last year for numerous posts going back a few years which simply had the words ‘Tommy Robinson’ in them. Many of them were just news articles but this apparently violated their terms and conditions and they removed it without a chance to appeal it.

“This week Instagram removed my page @Maj star_7 which I’ve had since 2014. I had over 7,500 posts on there. I used my platform to amplify the voices of other Afghans who were saying the situation on the ground is not as bad as the mainstream media is portraying. Some of my posts were simply a screenshot of their tweets. This resulted in my posts being constantly removed.

“I have also used my platform to repost the same videos from other news channels like Al Jazeera English and Instagram have removed them too for ‘promoting violence’ yet the very same videos are remaining up on the news channels. Other people’s posts which are criticising the new Afghan leaders and praising western intervention and the ‘war on terror’ are staying up on Instagram without any issues.

“There’s no process for challenging their arbitrary decisions. We saw both platforms do the same with the recent attack in Gaza by Israel. At a time when mainstream media is no longer trusted by many, it’s a shame that social media platforms, who many look to as being a voice for the people on the ground in any given conflict, that they are censuring news from being disseminated in order to act as propaganda tools. The fact that Muslims are always on the receiving end of these clampdowns is also concerning.”

Majid Freeman’s new Instagram account is here.

And 5Pillars editor Roshan Muhammed Salih said: “Facebook has long since abandoned any commitment to peaceful free speech and is effectively judge, jury and executioner. We are very careful to follow its rules but we have been given violations many times even when we haven’t breached their guidelines. And of course there is no fair appeals process, you just have to accept what they do to you.

“Muslims need to wake up to the fact that these platforms will never allow genuine free speech for us and we will all be forced off them at some point unless we abandon Islam. So we need to urgently think about creating viable alternative social media platforms and other means of communicating our message to the public away from the censorship of the West.”

Thus far other social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube have not censured accounts which debate news about the Taliban.

https://5pillarsuk.com/2021/08/22/fa...oning-taliban/



Reply

keiv
08-24-2021, 12:42 PM
It’s pretty clear that there is an agenda to influence the way people think about this situation. Look at how hard the media is pushing this topic ever since the pull out. I’ve seen news sites where at least half of all heir headlines were about Afghanistan. It’s non stop on the radio, TV, newspapers and internet. The issues in Yemen, China, Palestine, Myanmar, pretty much all of Africa, and so many other places don’t get near the attention that Afghanistan is. Anytime I see something like that happen, it’s an immediate red flag. The least of all, accepting any “official” reports from the US government about any situation should not be taken too seriously. This was never about the Afghan people, womens’ rights, or human rights in general.
Reply

FinalNyc
08-24-2021, 10:09 PM
Good point! There's always a plan behind all the dramas we see on media. It has been a trend and something is really up.
Reply

Patrick21
08-26-2021, 09:01 AM
How do you all feel about the Taliban executing the Afghan comedian?
Reply

Patrick21
08-26-2021, 04:05 PM
The Taliban's brothers in arms, ISIS, is apparently detonating bombs and killing, among others, Afghan children. Do you support this?
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سيف الله
08-26-2021, 08:08 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Patrick21
How do you all feel about the Taliban executing the Afghan comedian?

format_quote Originally Posted by Patrick21
The Taliban's brothers in arms, ISIS, is apparently detonating bombs and killing, among others, Afghan children. Do you support this?
Yeah Ill take the bait - The pig ignornance your display is quite something, get a basic education (if thats not beyond your limited capabilities) before you opine on subjects you have no clue about.

You are an embarassment.
Reply

Patrick21
08-27-2021, 12:27 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Junon
Yeah Ill take the bait - The pig ignornance your display is quite something, get a basic education (if thats not beyond your limited capabilities) before you opine on subjects you have no clue about.

You are an embarassment.

Simple questions. I have the impression that some here think it's great.
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Karl
08-27-2021, 01:53 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Junon
Yeah Ill take the bait - The pig ignornance your display is quite something, get a basic education (if thats not beyond your limited capabilities) before you opine on subjects you have no clue about.

You are an embarassment.
Yeah liberal trolls are very annoying.

I did a bit of research and you are right. A caliphate is impossible because there are so many sects and separate nations of Muslims. Maybe in the future if Muslims drop all the sects and be united and true to the faith a caliphate could be possible.

Back to the Taliban...These guys are wearing kid gloves. I am sick of the hypocrisy from the West always putting the boot into them. The West has killed millions and millions over the years and what are they saying now. "Womens rights" !!! Blah blah "girls gotta go to school" Blah blah it's enough to pull your hair out. It's so bad bring on End of Days. A rogue planet crashing into Earth would be nice to put us out of our misery once and for all.
Reply

Karl
08-27-2021, 03:23 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by keiv
It’s pretty clear that there is an agenda to influence the way people think about this situation. Look at how hard the media is pushing this topic ever since the pull out. I’ve seen news sites where at least half of all heir headlines were about Afghanistan. It’s non stop on the radio, TV, newspapers and internet. The issues in Yemen, China, Palestine, Myanmar, pretty much all of Africa, and so many other places don’t get near the attention that Afghanistan is. Anytime I see something like that happen, it’s an immediate red flag. The least of all, accepting any “official” reports from the US government about any situation should not be taken too seriously. This was never about the Afghan people, womens’ rights, or human rights in general.

I concur! Why is it though that the Taliban when asked idiotic and infantile questions by the Western Jew-owned media obsessed about "women's right's", "girls' education" "gay rights" etc that they actually give them any reply AT ALL? They only give the enemy a kind of "legitimacy" by giving answers to those questions! The Taliban say "Well, they will be given their rights within the context of Islamic law, blah blah". But why don't they just say "Look, make no mistake bout this, the very reason you invaded us in the first place was on the claim that you were wanting to drive out Al-Qaeda and stop Afghanistan from being used as a breeding ground for terrorism, end of story! So WHY are you now asking us ridiculous and inane questions regarding purely domestic matters that simply don't concern you at all?? We will not answer such lame questions and will instead only answer pertinent questions specifically to do with the foreign occupiers leavings etc. We have already told you we are enemies of ISIS/ISIL etc, and other terrorist groups that wish to use this country as a haven for their purposes. We have also clearly stated that we do not want this country to be used as a base for foreign forces (including Western ones) to attack foreign countries-- either neighbouring countries or far flung countries. All we want is peace and to be just left alone! That is all you need to know. The 'plight' of any of our own citizens is none of your concern. It is for us to deal with, not you. It is simply not your business whether or not we educate our females, whether we want them accompanied when outside our homes, or what our daughters eat for breakfast, if they eat too much fat and sugar, drink too much coffee, or what time they go to bed at night!!"
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سيف الله
08-29-2021, 11:12 PM
Salaam

Interesting and disappointing, more on the Talibans leadership dealings with the Americans.







Are they coordinating military attacks?



sobering reality

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Eric H
08-30-2021, 05:11 PM
What did America achieve? Well, after four US presidents and trillions of dollars spent on war, the Americans managed to take Afghanistan away from the Taliban, only to give it back to the Taliban.

Somehow, America will claim that as a victory.

The stupidity of war.
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سيف الله
08-31-2021, 07:41 PM
Salaam

Great interview.

Fmr Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan on OGN

Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, former Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan and ex-Guantanamo detainee, joins Bilal Abdul Kareem to discuss the airport attacks, who was responsible & the future of Afghanistan.

Reply

سيف الله
09-01-2021, 11:04 PM
Salaam

format_quote Originally Posted by IslamLife00
Can you post link to Mehdi Hasan tweets again? It didn't open

edit : I will find his twitter inshaAllah it should show up in search as he is public figure. I'm just surprised as I thought he is on the muslim side
The only side he is on is himeself, He adopts the values of whoever is employing him.



Though being a Shia the mask has come off, the irony is is that the Taliban have promised to protect the Shia of Afghanistan, (they recently allowed Shia processions in Kabul).

heh

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Karl
09-02-2021, 12:47 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Eric H
What did America achieve? Well, after four US presidents and trillions of dollars spent on war, the Americans managed to take Afghanistan away from the Taliban, only to give it back to the Taliban.

Somehow, America will claim that as a victory.

The stupidity of war.
The Zionists did very well. They still lord over Afghanistan, no longer with foot soldiers but with air power, while duping people into believing that the "war is over". Furthermore, they have managed to import well over a 100000 Afghan traitors into the USA and flood Europe too with these coward gimmegrants (or more euphemistically speaking "economic migrants"). I read a story how a traitor Afghan family are living it up in Texas. I wonder what the local tax paying people are feeling about that? "Build the wall"! "What the F***k now they are flying them in"! Are there any Afghan traitors going to Israel? The Great Replacement is doing really well.
Reply

سيف الله
09-02-2021, 08:55 PM
Salaam

format_quote Originally Posted by Karl
Yeah liberal trolls are very annoying.

I did a bit of research and you are right. A caliphate is impossible
You misunderstand, its not 'impossible' though it will take a long time. It will have to account for how the world has changed and will have to adapt and confront new realities. We had it however imperfect in the past, it can happen again.

So Biden is following the Trump blueprint, looks like the USA era of being a global enforcer is coming to an end.



More analysis.

The Imperial USA Retreats

Although the way it was done was a humiliating shambles, the retreat of the USA from its occupation of Afghanistan is not a bad thing; the US military should also be withdrawn from Iraq, Africa, Europe, and most of its military bases around the world. But the question is, does this retreat spell the end of the empire?

Wise men in Washington have claimed for years that defeat in Afghanistan is what pushed the Soviet Union to collapse. Now that the US has done much worse, the world is about to see whether their theories hold water.
The last US military flight out of the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) took off on Monday, a minute before the clocks struck midnight in Kabul. The 20-year war had come to an end, and the Taliban lit up the night skies with celebratory gunfire.

To hear President Joe Biden tell it, “the largest airlift in US history” was an “unparalleled” success, executed by the US military, diplomats, veterans and volunteers “with unmatched courage, professionalism, and resolve.”

In the minds of just about everyone else who could watch the events unfold over the past two weeks, it was a mad scramble to evacuate over 100,000 Afghans eager to emigrate, with fewer than 6,000 Americans making the flights – and several hundred being left behind for diplomats to try and save.

In fact, while 82nd Airborne Division commander General Christopher Donahue and US ambassador to Afghanistan Ross Wilson were the last two people to step on the last plane, no American civilians were on board the last five flights out of Kabul. This was the startling admission by General Kenneth McKenzie of CENTCOM to Pentagon reporters on Monday evening.

“We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out,” McKenzie said.

Compare that to the Soviet pullout from Afghanistan, which ended in February 1989. The USSR took nine months to draw down over 100,000 troops. The last man across the Bridge of Friendship into present-day Uzbekistan was General Boris V. Gromov, who turned to a TV crew and said, “There is not a single Soviet soldier or officer left behind me.”

The government of Dr. Najibullah, whom the Soviets intervened to support against the US-backed Islamists a decade earlier, fought on for three more years – collapsing only after the USSR itself imploded and stopped sending aid. By contrast, the US-backed government in Kabul vanished into thin air before the US withdrawal was even complete.
Russia Today, 31 August 2021
What this comparison tells us is that the neoclown world order, aka “the open society”, aka Globohomo, is even less ideologically appealing to the people it oppresses around the world than Soviet-style communism. The riots and protests against the vaccine regimes around the world, from Australia to France, testify to the same thing.

This is precisely what the Learned Elders of Wye feared back in 2006 when they began to make their initial plans to leave the sinking ship of the USA, but if the shambolic retreat of their servants from Afghanistan is a true harbinger, it suggests their planned retreat from the USA will be even more disastrous.

UPDATE: George Soros on China:

2010: China has ‘better-functioning government’ than the USA.

2021: Xi Jinping is “the most dangerous enemy of open societies in the world.”

I wonder what could possibly have changed Mr. Soros’s opinion in the interim?

https://voxday.net/2021/08/31/the-im...-usa-retreats/

More analysis.

Rule By Ontology

William S. Lind considers the nominalism and magical thinking of the Washington elite in the wake of the imperial debacle in Afghanistan.
How could the whole Washington defense and foreign policy establishment get it so wrong? One answer is that, if you want to become and remain a member of the establishment, you must never make waves. Since almost all the people in question want to be something, not do something, they follow that rule regardless of where it leads. A defeat in war is but a small matter when compared to a risk to their careers.

Another answer is that members of the establishment are almost all nominalists. That is to say, if they give something a name, it takes on real existence in their minds. The Afghan National Army offers a perfect example. Because we called it an army, gave it lots of American money, equipment and training, and knew its order of battle, it was an army. But it wasn’t. Apart from a few commando units, it was a ragtag collection of men who needed jobs and had little or no interest in fighting. Those men seldom saw their pay, because it was stolen before it reached them. Rations and ammunition often suffered the same fate. That army collapsed overnight because it never really existed outside the minds of establishment nominalists.

That same nominalism applied to the entire Afghan government. Washington nominalists thought it was real; Afghans knew it was not. A Marine battalion commander just back from Afghanistan put it best. He said, “Talking to a 14th century Afghan villager about the government in Kabul is like talking to your cat about the dark side of the moon. You don’t know what it’s like and he doesn’t care.”

We see nominalism running all through American policy-making. Washington nominalists think Iraq is a state. It isn’t, because real power is in the hands of ethnic and religious militias. The state is merely a facade, but since it has a parliament, elections, cabinet ministers, etc. it is real to nominalists. Not surprisingly, our policy there has been a series of disasters ever since the initial disaster of invading the place.

The Washington elite’s nominalism is not restricted to foreign policy. It looks at the U.S. military the same way. If you call something an army, it must be able to fight, even though you have filled its ranks with women, made promotion depend on Political Correctness rather than military ability and given it bureaucrats for generals. When it loses a war, as it just did in Afghanistan, it must be a matter of bad luck. The fact that it ceased to be a real army decades ago is not recognized.

The Washington establishment’s civilians have been soaking in nominalism ever since they began their “education” at various elite institutions. Woe to any who pointed out that the U.N. has proven worthless in one crisis after another, that our “democratic” allies are all really oligarchies or that “human rights” vary enormously in their definition from one culture and people to another. To call an entity a state or an army or a democracy means it magically becomes one. And the magical thinking that dominates the establishment’s picture of the world leads to repeated debacles from which it learns nothing.
Ontology is bad enough when it passes for philosophy, it’s downright ludicrous as political ideology and government policy. But it’s worth questioning from whence it comes, as it ultimately derives from the “as above, so below” occultism of the pharisatanics who presently dominate the imperial capital. This belief in word spells not only describing, but defining and dictating reality is not magical thinking, it is the sort of magickal thinking utilized by those who worship the god of this world.

https://voxday.net/2021/09/01/rule-by-ontology/
Reply

سيف الله
09-05-2021, 10:42 PM
Salaam

Interesting analysis. Always good to know who your 'friends' are. MBZ not so long ago offered to kill the Taliban leadership.



Emirate 2.0 throws a major monkey wrench into the Saudi/Emirati struggle against Islamism/jihadism. Riyadh & Abu Dhabi had been making significant progress in rolling back this phenomenon in the Middle East in the decade since the Arab Spring with the most recent gain in Tunisia.

The Saudi-Emirati alliance defeated Islamists who have been backed by Turkey and Qatar. The Taliban comeback represents a major setback to the MbZ/MbS agenda in the region because it will likely energize Islamists throughout the Arab/Muslim world.

More importantly though, from the Saudi and Emirati POV, the Taliban comeback allows Turkey and Qatar to play a much larger role. And they know that Doha and Ankara are close to the Pakistanis.

The Saudis & Emiratis take comfort from the fact that neither Turkey nor Qatar has financial leverage over the Paks the way they do. So, this phone call was a reminder to Islamabad that we know you need all the help you can get but let's not get carried away.

So, the Pakistani strategy for Afghanistan is constrained by Islamabad's need to ensure that Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are on board. Another way for the U.S. to shape Emirate 2.0 without having to be directly involved.

While the Saudis and Emiratis will be able to constrain Taliban via the Pakistanis they still have the problem in the form of the psychological boost to Islamists and jihadists.

Thus, unlike their recognition of v. 1.0, KSA and UAE will drive a much harder bargain before they recognize Emirate 2.0.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1...009348614.html

More generally.

Reply

Karl
09-06-2021, 12:40 AM
From Junon "You misunderstand, its not 'impossible' though it will take a long time. It will have to account for how the world has changed and will have to adapt and confront new realities. We had it however imperfect in the past, it can happen again".

Please explain, the world has not changed, people have not changed, they are still full of hypocrisy and bigotry and their own code of hate. I believe a caliphate is impossible because most "Muslims" don't want it. The Zionists are using the internet, mass media and television to brain wash people into being liberals. It is a very effective insidious weapon and most of the world population will be converted.
Reply

Karl
09-06-2021, 02:37 AM
Something also increasingly seems suspect with the "New Taliban". I have noticed they have resorted to employing leftist expressions (such as "the international community")...you know the commies aren't far away when you hear THAT expression. Also in some recent news a feminist protest breaks out onto the street, Jewish internationalist media cameras all in action beaming it out to the "international community", and the Taliban just stand there like gutless wonders, treating these Western-funded feminist upstarts with kid gloves. WHY on earth would the Taliban allow it to get anywhere near as out of hand as that if they were actually genuine? Why not nip it in the bud MUCH sooner before it gets out onto the street??? Also the Taliban a week ago said they would not allow women in positions of government, later only to modify this by saying that women would not be allowed to get into senior positions of government. Seems very much like a quickly deteriorating situation.
Reply

FinalNyc
09-06-2021, 06:56 AM
They would simply not allow women to have any positions may it be a government or not. The women and children's fate is hopeless.
Reply

سيف الله
09-06-2021, 07:19 PM
Salaam

format_quote Originally Posted by Karl
From Junon "You misunderstand, its not 'impossible' though it will take a long time. It will have to account for how the world has changed and will have to adapt and confront new realities. We had it however imperfect in the past, it can happen again".

Please explain, the world has not changed, people have not changed, they are still full of hypocrisy and bigotry and their own code of hate. I believe a caliphate is impossible because most "Muslims" don't want it. The Zionists are using the internet, mass media and television to brain wash people into being liberals. It is a very effective insidious weapon and most of the world population will be converted.
Because we had it in the past if you understand the basics of Islamic history. When Americans invaded Afghanistan who could of imagined (other than those who believe) that 20 years later they would be defeated. Not saying its going to be easy or even a top priority given the immense problems and divisions amongst the Ummah but its something to aim for.

Another update. western perspective.

The economy has juddered to a halt, nobody is getting salaries and many things have closed. People are just desperate for money and work.

There is drought, hunger, Covid and poverty, as well as all the issues with women's rights and human rights.

The Taliban are no doubt militarily in control, but they have to address what the UN is calling a looming humanitarian catastrophe.




More reconciliation

Reply

سيف الله
09-08-2021, 08:13 AM
Salaam

Like to share.



Reply

سيف الله
09-09-2021, 07:12 PM
Salaam

You wont be hearing this on mainstream news.

Reply

سيف الله
09-10-2021, 11:59 PM
Salaam

A weeks a long time in politics, sad to see but reflects the changing political realities in Afghanistan. Why are they doing this. Is it part of a deal with the US? Gulf shiekhs want this? Or maybe they want o consolidate complete political power.



Fair comment.



Reply

IslamLife00
10-05-2021, 11:37 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by سيف الله
Salaam



The only side he is on is himeself, He adopts the values of whoever is employing him.



Though being a Shia the mask has come off, the irony is is that the Taliban have promised to protect the Shia of Afghanistan, (they recently allowed Shia processions in Kabul).

heh

wa'alaykumussalaam. jazakAllah khayr for the info
Reply

سيف الله
11-10-2021, 01:24 AM
Salaam

Like to share.





His first report.



Second report.





Comment from Afghans.



More.

Afghans are facing medieval levels of poverty and destitution amid U.S. economic warfare. Roshan Muhammed Salih visited a street market in Kabul to find out more.



And more reporting.





Afghans raising concerns about girls schooling.





More generally



Reason number 120239434 why western powers were defeated in Afghanistan.





Any Muslim who knows the basics should understand this.



Sister Bibi (native who actually lives in Afghanistan) giving sensible advice.



And again - reason number 120239435 why the occupation was defeated. the cluelessness of these westerner saviour types is truly astonishing, have they learnt anything?



Reply

Eddy
11-11-2021, 09:41 AM
Most of his information actually came from mainstream western media. Didn't you pay attention?
He cited Fox News, BBC, The Guardian and other western media outlets.
Reply

سيف الله
11-12-2021, 06:45 PM
Salty arent you? Too bad for you plenty of better alternative sources of news and information to get the news from. Dont like it? Deal with it.
Reply

Spiritlead
11-13-2021, 04:37 AM
Militarily the US defeated Al Queda and wiped out a whole generation of the Taliban. The US was not defeated militarily. It was only after they withdrew that the Taliban were able to reassert themselves. The people of Afghanistan decided they wanted to live again under barbaric medieval Islamic fundamentalism. Good luck to them !
Poor things !
Reply

keiv
11-13-2021, 01:24 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Spiritlead
Militarily the US defeated Al Queda and wiped out a whole generation of the Taliban. The US was not defeated militarily. It was only after they withdrew that the Taliban were able to reassert themselves. The people of Afghanistan decided they wanted to live again under barbaric medieval Islamic fundamentalism. Good luck to them !
Poor things !
Interesting perspective. The US military, among others, have been shamed on an international stage by a bunch of bedouins in flip flops. No generation of the Taliban has been wiped out and their presence has always been there, keeping the barbaric occupiers in check. That embarrassment of what you would consider a successful military campaign, which lasted decades mind you, was undone in an instant. Because the rape thirsty barbaric Americans couldn't beat them by force, they then ramped up the MSM agenda full throttle by painting the Afghans as a helpless people (ie. 2001 all over again). That has since died down because people have slowly forgotten the clown show, IE. defeat, of the US running away with it's tail between it's legs.

For the innocent Afghans that haven't been "liberated" yet, you know, blown up by US drones and all, I'm sure they're happy to not have to live under the LGBTQQIP2SAA freak show you guys are forcefully trying to shove down everyone's throats.
Reply

Spiritlead
11-13-2021, 09:47 PM
It’s a fact. The US exterminated that whole generation of Islamofascists responsible for the World Trade attacks. The situation in Afghanistan only fell apart when the US left. Not before.
The West a “LGBTQQIP2SAA freak show “? Really ? You mean (the West) is the most prosperous and advanced civilisation in world history. So much so that Muslims are clambering over themselves to get there. The West has to put fences up to keep them out.
Reply

سيف الله
11-14-2021, 12:17 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by keiv
Interesting perspective. The US military, among others, have been shamed on an international stage by a bunch of bedouins in flip flops. No generation of the Taliban has been wiped out and their presence has always been there, keeping the barbaric occupiers in check. That embarrassment of what you would consider a successful military campaign, which lasted decades mind you, was undone in an instant. Because the rape thirsty barbaric Americans couldn't beat them by force, they then ramped up the MSM agenda full throttle by painting the Afghans as a helpless people (ie. 2001 all over again). That has since died down because people have slowly forgotten the clown show, IE. defeat, of the US running away with it's tail between it's legs.

For the innocent Afghans that haven't been "liberated" yet, you know, blown up by US drones and all, I'm sure they're happy to not have to live under the LGBTQQIP2SAA freak show you guys are forcefully trying to shove down everyone's throats.
I wouldnt mind waste your time with these low grade ignorants - let them stew.
Reply

Karl
11-14-2021, 12:37 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Spiritlead
It’s a fact. The US exterminated that whole generation of Islamofascists responsible for the World Trade attacks. The situation in Afghanistan only fell apart when the US left. Not before.
The West a “LGBTQQIP2SAA freak show “? Really ? You mean (the West) is the most prosperous and advanced civilisation in world history. So much so that Muslims are clambering over themselves to get there. The West has to put fences up to keep them out.
"Islamofascists", "medieval", "barbaric"...all typical slogans of Zionists and liberals alike. I also find it kind of odd that you, a "christian", would come running to the defense of "LGBTQ+". Yes, the West USED to be a great civilization, most certainly, but ever since it was usurped by Jews, misandrists, degenerates and other leftist freaks (escalating particularly after WWII) it most certainly became NO LONGER a great civilization. The only Afghans that are clambering over each other to get to the West are traitors, homosexuals, misandrists, thieves and other degenerates, scoundrels and criminals. Sane minded Afghans on the other hand (which count for the vast majority) would much rather stay right at HOME and are actually better off WITHOUT the turncoats. The "medieval" huh? I tell you what, if *I* had some kind of time machine and could go back to the Medieval times I'd do it in an INSTANT...a MUCH better preference than living in this degenerate toxic madhouse of a world where a fanatical globalist Liberal Tyranny (aka Kultur-Terror) is shoved down everyone's throats!

As for the World Trade attacks, that was an inside job carried out by Zionists and blamed on "the Muslims". They carried it out to "justify" endless false flag wars as part of an ambitious and narcissistic plot to foist their totalitarian Zionist World order, first on all the Muslim countries, and then the entire world. Any sane person can see that this is glaringly obvious.
Reply

Spiritlead
11-14-2021, 03:54 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Karl
"Islamofascists", "medieval", "barbaric"...all typical slogans of Zionists and liberals alike. I also find it kind of odd that you, a "christian", would come running to the defense of "LGBTQ+". Yes, the West USED to be a great civilization, most certainly, but ever since it was usurped by Jews, misandrists, degenerates and other leftist freaks (escalating particularly after WWII) it most certainly became NO LONGER a great civilization. The only Afghans that are clambering over each other to get to the West are traitors, homosexuals, misandrists, thieves and other degenerates, scoundrels and criminals. Sane minded Afghans on the other hand (which count for the vast majority) would much rather stay right at HOME and are actually better off WITHOUT the turncoats. The "medieval" huh? I tell you what, if *I* had some kind of time machine and could go back to the Medieval times I'd do it in an INSTANT...a MUCH better preference than living in this degenerate toxic madhouse of a world where a fanatical globalist Liberal Tyranny (aka Kultur-Terror) is shoved down everyone's throats!

As for the World Trade attacks, that was an inside job carried out by Zionists and blamed on "the Muslims". They carried it out to "justify" endless false flag wars as part of an ambitious and narcissistic plot to foist their totalitarian Zionist World order, first on all the Muslim countries, and then the entire world. Any sane person can see that this is glaringly obvious.
Zionists, totalitarian Zionist World order, globalist Liberal Tyranny. All typical slogans of rabid paranoid conspiracy theorists.
Defending LGBQ+?? What makes you think I am?
I notice you live in the Antipodes. Where ? Australia or New Zealand. If so you should be thankful you enjoy the benefits of living in a stable and prosperous Western country with Judeo Christian foundations. Maybe you should head off and live in Afghanistan then.
The fact remains. Its not just Afghanis falling over them selves to live in the West. But Muslims from all over the world. Obviously they see their Muslim majority countries for the failed states they are.
Take your time machine back to Medieval times. Good luck. None of the benefits that modern Western civilisation has brought you. No anti biotics. No anti septic. Have fun living in a mud hut with a candle to light your way to the toilet pit.
Oh yes, the old “World Trade attacks carried out by Zionists”. As I said above. Rabid, paranoid, conspiracy theories.
Reply

Karl
11-15-2021, 12:42 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Spiritlead
Zionists, totalitarian Zionist World order, globalist Liberal Tyranny. All typical slogans of rabid paranoid conspiracy theorists.
Defending LGBQ+?? What makes you think I am?
I notice you live in the Antipodes. Where ? Australia or New Zealand. If so you should be thankful you enjoy the benefits of living in a stable and prosperous Western country with Judeo Christian foundations. Maybe you should head off and live in Afghanistan then.
The fact remains. Its not just Afghanis falling over them selves to live in the West. But Muslims from all over the world. Obviously they see their Muslim majority countries for the failed states they are.
Take your time machine back to Medieval times. Good luck. None of the benefits that modern Western civilisation has brought you. No anti biotics. No anti septic. Have fun living in a mud hut with a candle to light your way to the toilet pit.
Oh yes, the old “World Trade attacks carried out by Zionists”. As I said above. Rabid, paranoid, conspiracy theories.
The way in which you wrote certainly implies that you are defending "LGBTQ+" but maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions on that? That you choose to use the expression Judeo-Christian rather than just "Christian" is suspect. Not accusing you of being Jewish but certainly many white Christians are well aware that Jews like to employ the expression " Judeo -Christian". And no, I don't want to head off to Afghanistan, not because I dislike their culture. In fact, I ADMIRE their culture, but I am not racially Afghan and that country does not belong to me. I am still a foreigner and actually have no proper right to live there, especially permanently.

Most of the Western "foundations" you speak of have actually been DISMANTLED and REPLACED with Jewish foundations/values, and some more honest Jews have even admitted they have been the primary architects of this massive cultural change. They do after all dominate and control Western government, media, academia, economics, and pretty much everything (hence why our Western nations are commonly referred to by White Nationalists and other intelligent people as "ZOG". They achieved full conquest after they destroyed the Nazis.

You are correct that the "Muslims" clambering to get into the West are not confined to Afghanistan, they come all across Asia and Africa. But I question if they are actual Muslims at all. It is explicitly stated in Islamic teachings NOT to go and live amongst the kuffar/non-believers! Yet they DO. These "Muslims", if they are not traitors, criminals and apostates fleeing their homelands are nothing more than INVADERS, their reason for being up against our borders being "Oh we are fleeing this or that 'tyrant', we are refugees blah blah." when in fact they are really just opportunistic economic migrants trying to take advantage, or worse, trying to invade by sheer numbers whilst pretending to be ultra-liberals and uttering fuzzy-furry ultra-liberal rhetoric that they know all the mind washed white woke leftie liberals and born-again pie-eyed "Christians" want to hear. It goes to show how NON-Muslim they really are if they would rather be in the company of the white liberal kuffar than to be in the company of their own kith and kin back at home! As for "Muslim failed states", it is this rogue element of "Muslims" who will view it that way, not the mainstream genuine Muslim populations. In fact, many if not most Muslims in Afghanistan realize that the Zionist invasion of Afghanistan has only eroded Muslim principles and traditional ways of life and imposed toxic agendas such as aggressive militant feminism and other forms of liberal tyranny, and so the true patriotic Afghans want to return their way of life back to pre-invasion times, and I'm 100% behind them on that.

I don't care for modernity, I'm a self-reliant "primitivist" and believe that technology is the sure road to destruction. You speak of vaccines etc, but we have seen that vaccines are known to kill. You speak of cars, planes and trains but what have they done to our clean beautiful environment? just pollute it with toxic fumes and poisons. But you might say "Oh, but go nuclear then" but we all know about Fukishima and Chernobyl, don't we? And we have seen what "leisurely" toys such as internet, radio and television have inflicted upon the world -- for the most part these things have been a weapon to promulgate toxic liberal "values" upon the entire planet, turning the world into a collective of indoctrinated mindless zombies being lead to their enslavement.
Reply

Spiritlead
11-15-2021, 06:58 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Karl
The way in which you wrote certainly implies that you are defending "LGBTQ+" but maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions on that? That you choose to use the expression Judeo-Christian rather than just "Christian" is suspect. Not accusing you of being Jewish but certainly many white Christians are well aware that Jews like to employ the expression " Judeo -Christian". And no, I don't want to head off to Afghanistan, not because I dislike their culture. In fact, I ADMIRE their culture, but I am not racially Afghan and that country does not belong to me. I am still a foreigner and actually have no proper right to live there, especially permanently.

Most of the Western "foundations" you speak of have actually been DISMANTLED and REPLACED with Jewish foundations/values, and some more honest Jews have even admitted they have been the primary architects of this massive cultural change. They do after all dominate and control Western government, media, academia, economics, and pretty much everything (hence why our Western nations are commonly referred to by White Nationalists and other intelligent people as "ZOG". They achieved full conquest after they destroyed the Nazis.

You are correct that the "Muslims" clambering to get into the West are not confined to Afghanistan, they come all across Asia and Africa. But I question if they are actual Muslims at all. It is explicitly stated in Islamic teachings NOT to go and live amongst the kuffar/non-believers! Yet they DO. These "Muslims", if they are not traitors, criminals and apostates fleeing their homelands are nothing more than INVADERS, their reason for being up against our borders being "Oh we are fleeing this or that 'tyrant', we are refugees blah blah." when in fact they are really just opportunistic economic migrants trying to take advantage, or worse, trying to invade by sheer numbers whilst pretending to be ultra-liberals and uttering fuzzy-furry ultra-liberal rhetoric that they know all the mind washed white woke leftie liberals and born-again pie-eyed "Christians" want to hear. It goes to show how NON-Muslim they really are if they would rather be in the company of the white liberal kuffar than to be in the company of their own kith and kin back at home! As for "Muslim failed states", it is this rogue element of "Muslims" who will view it that way, not the mainstream genuine Muslim populations. In fact, many if not most Muslims in Afghanistan realize that the Zionist invasion of Afghanistan has only eroded Muslim principles and traditional ways of life and imposed toxic agendas such as aggressive militant feminism and other forms of liberal tyranny, and so the true patriotic Afghans want to return their way of life back to pre-invasion times, and I'm 100% behind them on that.

I don't care for modernity, I'm a self-reliant "primitivist" and believe that technology is the sure road to destruction. You speak of vaccines etc, but we have seen that vaccines are known to kill. You speak of cars, planes and trains but what have they done to our clean beautiful environment? just pollute it with toxic fumes and poisons. But you might say "Oh, but go nuclear then" but we all know about Fukishima and Chernobyl, don't we? And we have seen what "leisurely" toys such as internet, radio and television have inflicted upon the world -- for the most part these things have been a weapon to promulgate toxic liberal "values" upon the entire planet, turning the world into a collective of indoctrinated mindless zombies being lead to their enslavement.
Yes you are jumping to a conclusion. I am not defending LGBQ etc and never will.
The term Judeo Christian is a common term to explain the moral foundations to the Western world. The reason being is that Judaism is the foundation to Christianity. Why is the term suspect ? I presume due to your Zionist conspiracy theory ?
You didn’t answer my question. Do you live in Australia or New Zealand ? And if so, as I said, you should be thankful you enjoy the benefits of living in a stable and prosperous non Muslim Western country ?

Please provide proof that western foundations have been dismantled and replaced with Jewish values. Like I said Western moral foundations go back to the Bible that is of Jewish and Christian traditions and belief. No dismantling or replacing there because it has always been that way.
Is seems strange to me that you as a Muslim would be agreeing with white nationalist conspiracy theorists. Only the “not real Muslims” clambering to get into the non Muslim West ?
Again where do you as a Muslim live ? Do you live in Australia or New Zealand ? If so, you appear to be contradicting yourself.

Questioning if these Muslims are actually Muslims at all, traitors, criminals and apostates? The way you present Islam is a religion that is divided and confused.

I agree. Most of these Muslims wanting into the West are economic migrants simply intent on abusing the hospitality of Western countries.
You mention the word “white” quite a lot. I presume you are not “white”? If so, you seem to have an inferiority complex.

Muslim world and countries as failed states is obvious to all the non Muslim world. Poverty, lack of human rights, lack of modern learning and art. The Muslim world contributes nothing to the modern world. That’s why Muslims are clambering to get the West.

The Taliban and Al Queda brought any erosion of Afghanistan upon themselves by their aggressive action on 911. Militarily the US defeated Al Queda and wiped out a whole generation of the Taliban. The US was not defeated militarily. It was only after they withdrew that the Taliban were able to reassert themselves. Afganis had the opportunity to benefit from modern civilisation but have chosen barbaric Muslim fundamentalism instead.

A “self-reliant "primitivist”. Good luck tending the goats and living in a dark and smoky mud hut. No efficient toilet systems and sewers. People dying at 40 was seen to be an old age. Many or most of the children died in the first few years, as did many of the women giving birth. Eating nothing but peas or dates day in and day out. None of the comforts of the Westen society that you enjoy. I agree that not everything modern civilisation has done has been good. However I believe if you were to take a vote of everyone in the world, most people would not want to go back to primitive medieval times.
Vaccines do not kill. Vaccines save lives from disease. Look at how Polio, diphtheria, small pox and typhoid have all been eliminated.
Reply

Karl
11-16-2021, 01:50 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Spiritlead
Yes you are jumping to a conclusion. I am not defending LGBQ etc and never will.
The term Judeo Christian is a common term to explain the moral foundations to the Western world. The reason being is that Judaism is the foundation to Christianity. Why is the term suspect ? I presume due to your Zionist conspiracy theory ?
You didn’t answer my question. Do you live in Australia or New Zealand ? And if so, as I said, you should be thankful you enjoy the benefits of living in a stable and prosperous non Muslim Western country ?

Please provide proof that western foundations have been dismantled and replaced with Jewish values. Like I said Western moral foundations go back to the Bible that is of Jewish and Christian traditions and belief. No dismantling or replacing there because it has always been that way.
Is seems strange to me that you as a Muslim would be agreeing with white nationalist conspiracy theorists. Only the “not real Muslims” clambering to get into the non Muslim West ?
Again where do you as a Muslim live ? Do you live in Australia or New Zealand ? If so, you appear to be contradicting yourself.

Questioning if these Muslims are actually Muslims at all, traitors, criminals and apostates? The way you present Islam is a religion that is divided and confused.

I agree. Most of these Muslims wanting into the West are economic migrants simply intent on abusing the hospitality of Western countries.
You mention the word “white” quite a lot. I presume you are not “white”? If so, you seem to have an inferiority complex.

Muslim world and countries as failed states is obvious to all the non Muslim world. Poverty, lack of human rights, lack of modern learning and art. The Muslim world contributes nothing to the modern world. That’s why Muslims are clambering to get the West.

The Taliban and Al Queda brought any erosion of Afghanistan upon themselves by their aggressive action on 911. Militarily the US defeated Al Queda and wiped out a whole generation of the Taliban. The US was not defeated militarily. It was only after they withdrew that the Taliban were able to reassert themselves. Afganis had the opportunity to benefit from modern civilisation but have chosen barbaric Muslim fundamentalism instead.

A “self-reliant "primitivist”. Good luck tending the goats and living in a dark and smoky mud hut. No efficient toilet systems and sewers. People dying at 40 was seen to be an old age. Many or most of the children died in the first few years, as did many of the women giving birth. Eating nothing but peas or dates day in and day out. None of the comforts of the Westen society that you enjoy. I agree that not everything modern civilisation has done has been good. However I believe if you were to take a vote of everyone in the world, most people would not want to go back to primitive medieval times.
Vaccines do not kill. Vaccines save lives from disease. Look at how Polio, diphtheria, small pox and typhoid have all been eliminated.
I took it to be you were supporting "LGBTQ+" because of the context by which you framed it: "The West a “LGBTQQIP2SAA freak show “? Really ? You mean (the West) is the most prosperous and advanced civilisation in world history."
You are basically confessing that the "most prosperous and advance civilization in world history" is supporting "LGBTQ+" (which , yes, it IS). If LGBTQ+ is deviant and degenerate (which it is) then WHY would the "most prosperous and advance civilization in world history" SUPPORT IT, so much so that it wants to even shove it down non Western countries' throats too?

MANY people including Christians have pointed out that the employment of the term "Judeo-Christian" is one that is relatively recent, and that JEWS and traitorous Zionist-Christians more than anyone else like to employ it. However, so many genuine Christians loathe that expression and (understandably) see no reason why "Christian" isn't completely adequate enough in and of itself to describe the dominant Western culture that lasted around two millennia but is now in rapid decline and being replaced with the degenerate plague of liberalism and atheism. The old Christian moral foundations are simply being replaced with atheistic leftist ideologies and principles. An entirely new mindset has been created. You could argue that the modern Western world is "Judeo-Marxist", but it can hardly be even described as predominantly "Christian" anymore, let alone "Judeo-Christian". It never was "Judeo-Christian" and it probably never will either, given the massive decline in religion in general. You argue that Judaism is the foundation religion of Christianity, and you are correct, but by the same token Judaism is also the foundation religion of Islam. All these three monotheistic religions are known as the "Abrahamic" faiths. However, if you still insist on employing the expression "Judeo-Christian" then you might as well also say "Judeo-Islamic", as Judaism is also the base religion that Islam stems from. Many religions stem from others. Even Sikhism has borrowed many principles and tenets from Islam, and I read somewhere there are even pages from the Quran inside the Golden Temple.

You keep asking my nationality, however I regard the matter irrelevant to the discussion. It really makes no difference whether I'm from Australia or New Zealand. I loathe the modern status quo culture of both these countries simply because I despise liberalism and its incessant zealous pushing of feminism (aka misandry), anti-patriarchy, it's violation of paternal sovereignty, it's interfering and trespassing of the domestic household, and it's equally fanatical pushing of things such as miscegenation and LGBTQ+ in the MSM. I despise practically ALL of the leftist dominated new-found values, attitudes, moral precepts, ideological and political mindsets etc. This new toxic culture has become particularly noticeable post-WWII, and chronically so since the beginning of this century, but if we critically look even more deeper it's easy enough to see that the rot was already starting to set in as far back as the French Revolution when Jews conspired to destroy France with future plans of exacting regicide across the rest of Europe. Little more than a century later they destroyed Russia with the Bolshevik Revolution, then the final death knell for the European peoples was with the annihilation of Germany. After the fall of Hitler, the aftermath all opened the way for the Jews of the World to come in for the final kill and to complete their conquest of the West. The OberJuden have occupied and enslaved all of Europe ever since 1945.

You ask, why (if I loathe modern Western "civilization" so much) don't I choose to move to Muslim country. Well, those countries simply do not belong to me. They instead belong to the respective indigenous races which inhabit those lands. I belong in a Western country because I am racially Germanic. Too bad for me if I loathe the modern culture that has been foisted upon me. But it's just something I know I need to deal with and accept that I have to live with it.

Ok, I am safe enough to live in the West in general. But you imply that it is dangerous to live in many Muslim countries. That is correct, but the main reason for that is because of the many Zionist invasions of those lands. In the past, hard as it might be for you to believe, most Muslim countries were generally very safe and stable. But obviously war torn countries are never safe.

The new atheistic Cultural-Marxism that predominates in most Western countries HAVE displaced old Christian values and I shouldn't have to prove that to you. It is so plain to see it everywhere around us and I am FAR from the first white person to point this out. Many Christians themselves have pointed it out. It is obvious as day that the culture now is PROFOUNDLY different to the culture we had 200 years ago. The people of those times would be turning in their graves if they saw what the West has become now, and if any of them were still hypothetically alive today they would almost surely have desperately gathered their armies to destroy the monstrous scourge that has come to dominate our epoch. But if you need to be spoon fed, as a starting point, the United Nations and the EU are probably two of the most significant and obvious drivers behind this new tyrannical demonic New World Order. The UN and EU are conspiring entities of the antichrist. It would be accurate enough to say that not only have Christian values been replaced (or at best severely eroded), but even orthodox Jewish values are not really present in the West either. The "Jewish" values that predominate in the modern West are more specifically a globalist totalitarian Cultural-Marxist satanic cult.

I don't see myself as contradictory for being in support of not only "white nationalism" but also the nationalism of ANY race. It is only logical that Muslims should feel the same. I am not just a White Nationalist, I also support the nationalism of ANY race and their right to be in charge of their indigenous lands. Even in the Quran is stated that Allah divided humanity into races and nations. We were intended to preserve our various rich diversities. We were not meant to live in globalist "melting pots" to contaminate our bloodlines and destroy our races with miscegenation, and to therefore subsequently become devoid of all our identity and roots and become nationless zombified obedient clones walking the planet until doomsday. The races were intended by God to live separately, not necessarily to avoid all contact with each other but to nonetheless preserve our races and our nations and our great and fascinating diversity. So these are principles not just encountered in ethhno-nationalist ideology, they are also something found in most religions too.

That it is my strong belief many of the "Muslims" clambering to get to the West are not really actual Muslims at all but are instead cowards, betrayers, traitors, criminals and apostates doesn't mean that the Muslim world is "confused". Yes, you could say it is and always has had a certain amount of division, as in its religious sectarianism, but no more divided than Christian Europe was with the sectarianism between Catholics, Protestants and Russian/Greek Orthodox. The main divisions seen across the Muslim world today is more between genuine Muslims and atheists, blasphemers, heretics, apostates, Marxists, liberals and traitors, (many of whom are also on Zionist/Marxist/enemy payrolls), rather than division between the various Muslims sects.

"Human rights" as with expressions such as "international community" "global citizen" "democracy" etc are platitudes -so commonly employed by atheists and liberals. No matter what the UN globalist pinkos might want to think, there is simply no such thing as inherent "human rights" anyway.

If you dislike Islam so much then I kind of find it puzzling that you'd choose be part of an Islamic forum. It's kind of the same way that Jewish and Marxist trolls like to keep posting endless posts ridiculing the whole very purpose of Stormfront and Nordiciist sites, which is primarily about preserving ethno-states and racial hygiene. It's not like anyone is FORCING these trolls to embrace nationalistic and racialist principles! They instead come of their OWN volition only to cause nothing but trolling and disruption. It confounds me how they get a cheap thrill out of doing it. I hate leftists, globalists, feminists, etc, yet the LAST thing I have any interest in wasting my time doing is joining up at forums whose sole purpose to exist is actually to espouse the things they most definitely passionately believe in! LOL. Leftists, globalists, feminists etc are usually zealously committed to their beliefs and even hard-wired to thinking the way they do, so it's hardly likely that I would be able to just go there and magically "convert" them all to my way of thinking, right? See what I'm saying?

You don't believe that 9/11 was an inside job, well that's your right to draw that conclusion. Did you see how the twin towers went down though? It looked like a very well controlled explosives demolition. Normally a building, especially of that size would probably not collapse at all, and if it did would be more likely to teeter over, NOT pancake to the ground. That is only what you would see in a controlled demolition.. Furthermore, it was discovered that a group of Israelis were seen from a very far distance having a good laugh while watching it going on, almost as if they were celebrating it. In any case, no matter what you want to believe, there is no doubt that there was something VERY off with that historical event and the "official" version of what actually happened. I'm not entirely sure precisely what connection Al Queda had with the whole thing, but there is absolutely no evidence at all that the Taliban had anything to do with it!

It is not just Muslims who dislike "modern Western civilization", many NON Muslims despise it too. As for lifespans, in spite of many modernists arguing that "people died so young in olden times" I was nonetheless surprised to find that when I visited a number of 19th century cemeteries just how many people got to very ripe old ages! Yes I saw some graves of babies and very young children, but it at the same time struck me the large number of tombstones that showed that many of the deceased had reached their 80s, 90s and even quite a few centenarians! Modernity might have brought with it a few medical advantages, but at the same time the many poisons and toxins in the environment that get into our lungs, our food and water is significantly OFFSETTING those medical advances. It is no wonder at all why so many today are dying younger and younger of cancers and other new diseases. Vaccines have eliminated many diseases, yes, and in the past I would have trusted them, and I have taken them. But not anymore. The last time I took vaccines was for hepatitis and a few other jabs when I went travelling abroad. But I would never take any vaccines ever again, especially since I've come to realize who actually is in control of our Western governments and the diabolically malevolent force they truly are.
Reply

Spiritlead
11-17-2021, 09:38 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Karl
I took it to be you were supporting "LGBTQ+" because of the context by which you framed it: "The West a “LGBTQQIP2SAA freak show “? Really ? You mean (the West) is the most prosperous and advanced civilisation in world history."
You are basically confessing that the "most prosperous and advance civilization in world history" is supporting "LGBTQ+" (which , yes, it IS). If LGBTQ+ is deviant and degenerate (which it is) then WHY would the "most prosperous and advance civilization in world history" SUPPORT IT, so much so that it wants to even shove it down non Western countries' throats too?

MANY people including Christians have pointed out that the employment of the term "Judeo-Christian" is one that is relatively recent, and that JEWS and traitorous Zionist-Christians more than anyone else like to employ it. However, so many genuine Christians loathe that expression and (understandably) see no reason why "Christian" isn't completely adequate enough in and of itself to describe the dominant Western culture that lasted around two millennia but is now in rapid decline and being replaced with the degenerate plague of liberalism and atheism. The old Christian moral foundations are simply being replaced with atheistic leftist ideologies and principles. An entirely new mindset has been created. You could argue that the modern Western world is "Judeo-Marxist", but it can hardly be even described as predominantly "Christian" anymore, let alone "Judeo-Christian". It never was "Judeo-Christian" and it probably never will either, given the massive decline in religion in general. You argue that Judaism is the foundation religion of Christianity, and you are correct, but by the same token Judaism is also the foundation religion of Islam. All these three monotheistic religions are known as the "Abrahamic" faiths. However, if you still insist on employing the expression "Judeo-Christian" then you might as well also say "Judeo-Islamic", as Judaism is also the base religion that Islam stems from. Many religions stem from others. Even Sikhism has borrowed many principles and tenets from Islam, and I read somewhere there are even pages from the Quran inside the Golden Temple.

You keep asking my nationality, however I regard the matter irrelevant to the discussion. It really makes no difference whether I'm from Australia or New Zealand. I loathe the modern status quo culture of both these countries simply because I despise liberalism and its incessant zealous pushing of feminism (aka misandry), anti-patriarchy, it's violation of paternal sovereignty, it's interfering and trespassing of the domestic household, and it's equally fanatical pushing of things such as miscegenation and LGBTQ+ in the MSM. I despise practically ALL of the leftist dominated new-found values, attitudes, moral precepts, ideological and political mindsets etc. This new toxic culture has become particularly noticeable post-WWII, and chronically so since the beginning of this century, but if we critically look even more deeper it's easy enough to see that the rot was already starting to set in as far back as the French Revolution when Jews conspired to destroy France with future plans of exacting regicide across the rest of Europe. Little more than a century later they destroyed Russia with the Bolshevik Revolution, then the final death knell for the European peoples was with the annihilation of Germany. After the fall of Hitler, the aftermath all opened the way for the Jews of the World to come in for the final kill and to complete their conquest of the West. The OberJuden have occupied and enslaved all of Europe ever since 1945.

You ask, why (if I loathe modern Western "civilization" so much) don't I choose to move to Muslim country. Well, those countries simply do not belong to me. They instead belong to the respective indigenous races which inhabit those lands. I belong in a Western country because I am racially Germanic. Too bad for me if I loathe the modern culture that has been foisted upon me. But it's just something I know I need to deal with and accept that I have to live with it.

Ok, I am safe enough to live in the West in general. But you imply that it is dangerous to live in many Muslim countries. That is correct, but the main reason for that is because of the many Zionist invasions of those lands. In the past, hard as it might be for you to believe, most Muslim countries were generally very safe and stable. But obviously war torn countries are never safe.

The new atheistic Cultural-Marxism that predominates in most Western countries HAVE displaced old Christian values and I shouldn't have to prove that to you. It is so plain to see it everywhere around us and I am FAR from the first white person to point this out. Many Christians themselves have pointed it out. It is obvious as day that the culture now is PROFOUNDLY different to the culture we had 200 years ago. The people of those times would be turning in their graves if they saw what the West has become now, and if any of them were still hypothetically alive today they would almost surely have desperately gathered their armies to destroy the monstrous scourge that has come to dominate our epoch. But if you need to be spoon fed, as a starting point, the United Nations and the EU are probably two of the most significant and obvious drivers behind this new tyrannical demonic New World Order. The UN and EU are conspiring entities of the antichrist. It would be accurate enough to say that not only have Christian values been replaced (or at best severely eroded), but even orthodox Jewish values are not really present in the West either. The "Jewish" values that predominate in the modern West are more specifically a globalist totalitarian Cultural-Marxist satanic cult.

I don't see myself as contradictory for being in support of not only "white nationalism" but also the nationalism of ANY race. It is only logical that Muslims should feel the same. I am not just a White Nationalist, I also support the nationalism of ANY race and their right to be in charge of their indigenous lands. Even in the Quran is stated that Allah divided humanity into races and nations. We were intended to preserve our various rich diversities. We were not meant to live in globalist "melting pots" to contaminate our bloodlines and destroy our races with miscegenation, and to therefore subsequently become devoid of all our identity and roots and become nationless zombified obedient clones walking the planet until doomsday. The races were intended by God to live separately, not necessarily to avoid all contact with each other but to nonetheless preserve our races and our nations and our great and fascinating diversity. So these are principles not just encountered in ethhno-nationalist ideology, they are also something found in most religions too.

That it is my strong belief many of the "Muslims" clambering to get to the West are not really actual Muslims at all but are instead cowards, betrayers, traitors, criminals and apostates doesn't mean that the Muslim world is "confused". Yes, you could say it is and always has had a certain amount of division, as in its religious sectarianism, but no more divided than Christian Europe was with the sectarianism between Catholics, Protestants and Russian/Greek Orthodox. The main divisions seen across the Muslim world today is more between genuine Muslims and atheists, blasphemers, heretics, apostates, Marxists, liberals and traitors, (many of whom are also on Zionist/Marxist/enemy payrolls), rather than division between the various Muslims sects.

"Human rights" as with expressions such as "international community" "global citizen" "democracy" etc are platitudes -so commonly employed by atheists and liberals. No matter what the UN globalist pinkos might want to think, there is simply no such thing as inherent "human rights" anyway.

If you dislike Islam so much then I kind of find it puzzling that you'd choose be part of an Islamic forum. It's kind of the same way that Jewish and Marxist trolls like to keep posting endless posts ridiculing the whole very purpose of Stormfront and Nordiciist sites, which is primarily about preserving ethno-states and racial hygiene. It's not like anyone is FORCING these trolls to embrace nationalistic and racialist principles! They instead come of their OWN volition only to cause nothing but trolling and disruption. It confounds me how they get a cheap thrill out of doing it. I hate leftists, globalists, feminists, etc, yet the LAST thing I have any interest in wasting my time doing is joining up at forums whose sole purpose to exist is actually to espouse the things they most definitely passionately believe in! LOL. Leftists, globalists, feminists etc are usually zealously committed to their beliefs and even hard-wired to thinking the way they do, so it's hardly likely that I would be able to just go there and magically "convert" them all to my way of thinking, right? See what I'm saying?

You don't believe that 9/11 was an inside job, well that's your right to draw that conclusion. Did you see how the twin towers went down though? It looked like a very well controlled explosives demolition. Normally a building, especially of that size would probably not collapse at all, and if it did would be more likely to teeter over, NOT pancake to the ground. That is only what you would see in a controlled demolition.. Furthermore, it was discovered that a group of Israelis were seen from a very far distance having a good laugh while watching it going on, almost as if they were celebrating it. In any case, no matter what you want to believe, there is no doubt that there was something VERY off with that historical event and the "official" version of what actually happened. I'm not entirely sure precisely what connection Al Queda had with the whole thing, but there is absolutely no evidence at all that the Taliban had anything to do with it!

It is not just Muslims who dislike "modern Western civilization", many NON Muslims despise it too. As for lifespans, in spite of many modernists arguing that "people died so young in olden times" I was nonetheless surprised to find that when I visited a number of 19th century cemeteries just how many people got to very ripe old ages! Yes I saw some graves of babies and very young children, but it at the same time struck me the large number of tombstones that showed that many of the deceased had reached their 80s, 90s and even quite a few centenarians! Modernity might have brought with it a few medical advantages, but at the same time the many poisons and toxins in the environment that get into our lungs, our food and water is significantly OFFSETTING those medical advances. It is no wonder at all why so many today are dying younger and younger of cancers and other new diseases. Vaccines have eliminated many diseases, yes, and in the past I would have trusted them, and I have taken them. But not anymore. The last time I took vaccines was for hepatitis and a few other jabs when I went travelling abroad. But I would never take any vaccines ever again, especially since I've come to realize who actually is in control of our Western governments and the diabolically malevolent force they truly are.
Thanks Karl. Interesting discussion but it appears there is much we will need to agree to disagree on. All the best and Gods Blessings Upon You.
Reply

Spiritlead
11-17-2021, 09:39 PM
Thanks Karl. Interesting discussion but it appears there is much we will need to agree to disagree on. All the best and Gods Blessings Upon You.
Reply

Karl
11-18-2021, 11:54 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Spiritlead
Thanks Karl. Interesting discussion but it appears there is much we will need to agree to disagree on. All the best and Gods Blessings Upon You.
Ok, no probs, and thanks for a civil debate. Yes, I agree, it appears there are simply things that we agree on but also things we disagree on. Gods Blessing upon you too.
Reply

سيف الله
11-18-2021, 11:06 PM
Salaam

Another update.



More interviews.





Another interview.







And another.





Visiting outside Kabul.





More generally





Good summary of the situation.

5Pillars editor Roshan Muhammed Salih reflects on what he's learned about Afghanistan over the past two weeks.

Reply

سيف الله
11-24-2021, 01:02 AM
Salaam

Much requested, Roshan managed to interview Afghan sisters.

Roshan Muhammed Salih went to Kabul Education University to talk to women who support the new Islamic Emirate.




Comment.



Responses.



Firstly, one of the sisters was nervous for sure but not bc she was scared of the Taliban, but bc this was her first i/v and a foreign journalist had just stuck a camera in her face. This can be intimidating. I spoke to her off camera too & am satisfied she is a true believer

A lot of ppl are saying I should subtitle my interviews instead of doing voice overs. I agree this would be more authentic but pls understand that it would also take a lot of time and I am working alone here without the back up of a big company. This is why I do voice overs.

Pro-West & anti-Taliban Afghans (most living abroad & doubtless many collaborators among them) have said the i/v was fake. I'll let viewers decide who has more integrity - a journalist who has worked transparently for 23 yrs or traitors who sold their nation to foreigners. A better question would be were the views of the Afghan women representative of Afghan women? I have no idea. My best guess is that

Afghan women are v divided. But given that MSM always i/vs liberal Afghan women I thought it was important to interview pro Taliban Muslim women



Freedom of speech and all that.



Given who owns facebook we shouldnt be too surprised.
Reply

سيف الله
11-26-2021, 01:08 PM
Salaam

More comment.





Kabul’s dirty little secret – the hordes of Afghan collaborators

Roshan Muhammed Salih reporting from Kabul, says that Muslims need to have a less generous view of collaborators otherwise we will be giving the West a green light to invade, occupy and subjugate.

During nearly three weeks in Afghanistan, I have been dismayed to encounter a huge number of people who collaborated with the U.S.-led NATO occupation forces.

These people have been remarkably candid with me when the camera was not rolling and the tape wasn’t recording. And they offered a variety of excuses and justifications for their treason.

We all know that over one hundred thousand Afghans who worked for the Americans, the British and others were evacuated from the country in August as the occupation authorities fled or surrendered to the Taliban.

But many more remained behind and I have met dozens of them. They are ordinary people who work in ordinary jobs or who are now unemployed. They may have served the occupation forces in hotels or worked for them in administrative roles. Or they may have accepted contracts from them to build infrastructure and implement projects.

Talking to these people, most justified their collaboration by saying they did it because they were dirt poor and needed to put food on the table for their families. Others offered no excuses to me and said they saw nothing wrong with working with the Americans because they were far better than the Taliban. While others seemed genuinely troubled and remorseful because of their actions.

I guess a generous interpretation of this collaboration is that most Afghans did it out of pure desperation in low-level jobs and have no blood on their hands. And who am I – someone who lives a comfortable life in the West – to judge them? Perhaps I would have done the same thing if I were in their position (I hope not).

A less charitable view – and one which I share – is that the occupation simply could not have worked for so long without the sheer legions of Afghans willing to work with foreign invaders and occupiers. Ultimately all these people committed treachery to one degree or another and sold their nation down the river to foreigners.

Also, we must remember that huge numbers of Afghans refused to collaborate with the foreigners and sacrificed everything to liberate their country from invaders.

As for the Taliban, they have declared a general amnesty against collaborators and there is definitely no systemic policy of reprisals against them. In fact, I have met collaborators in ministries who have kept their jobs and have been assured forgiveness by the Taliban.

On the other hand, I have also heard anecdotal evidence of cases of reprisals being carried out at a local level, often against people who have been denounced by their own neighbours.

Moreover, these stories of collaboration in Kabul have got me thinking of collaboration that has taken place in other Muslim countries I have reported on. In Iraq, the Americans and the British could not have operated without legions of domestic collaborators. Neither could the Israelis control Palestine without Palestinian collaborators.

In my view our attitude to these collaborators is far too forgiving. You don’t even have to be Muslim to realise that one of the most serious crimes you can commit in any country is to help a foreign power establish their authority over your nation. It’s called treason and the usual punishment for it is extremely harsh.

That said, it’s true that if the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan pursued a no-tolerance policy against collaborators they would be jailing hundreds of thousands of people, which is unrealistic for a movement that is trying to win hearts and minds and rebuild a nation.

But at the same time if our general attitude is one of forgiveness to traitors who are willing to betray their own nation, then this is a recipe for eternal Western invasion, occupation and subjugation.

https://5pillarsuk.com/2021/11/25/ka...collaborators/
Reply

Spiritlead
11-30-2021, 09:34 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by سيف الله
Salaam

More comment.





Kabul’s dirty little secret – the hordes of Afghan collaborators

Roshan Muhammed Salih reporting from Kabul, says that Muslims need to have a less generous view of collaborators otherwise we will be giving the West a green light to invade, occupy and subjugate.

During nearly three weeks in Afghanistan, I have been dismayed to encounter a huge number of people who collaborated with the U.S.-led NATO occupation forces.

These people have been remarkably candid with me when the camera was not rolling and the tape wasn’t recording. And they offered a variety of excuses and justifications for their treason.

We all know that over one hundred thousand Afghans who worked for the Americans, the British and others were evacuated from the country in August as the occupation authorities fled or surrendered to the Taliban.

But many more remained behind and I have met dozens of them. They are ordinary people who work in ordinary jobs or who are now unemployed. They may have served the occupation forces in hotels or worked for them in administrative roles. Or they may have accepted contracts from them to build infrastructure and implement projects.

Talking to these people, most justified their collaboration by saying they did it because they were dirt poor and needed to put food on the table for their families. Others offered no excuses to me and said they saw nothing wrong with working with the Americans because they were far better than the Taliban. While others seemed genuinely troubled and remorseful because of their actions.

I guess a generous interpretation of this collaboration is that most Afghans did it out of pure desperation in low-level jobs and have no blood on their hands. And who am I – someone who lives a comfortable life in the West – to judge them? Perhaps I would have done the same thing if I were in their position (I hope not).

A less charitable view – and one which I share – is that the occupation simply could not have worked for so long without the sheer legions of Afghans willing to work with foreign invaders and occupiers. Ultimately all these people committed treachery to one degree or another and sold their nation down the river to foreigners.

Also, we must remember that huge numbers of Afghans refused to collaborate with the foreigners and sacrificed everything to liberate their country from invaders.

As for the Taliban, they have declared a general amnesty against collaborators and there is definitely no systemic policy of reprisals against them. In fact, I have met collaborators in ministries who have kept their jobs and have been assured forgiveness by the Taliban.

On the other hand, I have also heard anecdotal evidence of cases of reprisals being carried out at a local level, often against people who have been denounced by their own neighbours.

Moreover, these stories of collaboration in Kabul have got me thinking of collaboration that has taken place in other Muslim countries I have reported on. In Iraq, the Americans and the British could not have operated without legions of domestic collaborators. Neither could the Israelis control Palestine without Palestinian collaborators.

In my view our attitude to these collaborators is far too forgiving. You don’t even have to be Muslim to realise that one of the most serious crimes you can commit in any country is to help a foreign power establish their authority over your nation. It’s called treason and the usual punishment for it is extremely harsh.

That said, it’s true that if the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan pursued a no-tolerance policy against collaborators they would be jailing hundreds of thousands of people, which is unrealistic for a movement that is trying to win hearts and minds and rebuild a nation.

But at the same time if our general attitude is one of forgiveness to traitors who are willing to betray their own nation, then this is a recipe for eternal Western invasion, occupation and subjugation.

https://5pillarsuk.com/2021/11/25/ka...collaborators/
Muslims need to have a less generous view of collaborators otherwise we will be giving the West a green light to invade, occupy and subjugate…
“…foreign invaders and occupiers….” “… liberate their country from invaders…”
“…eternal Western invasion, occupation and subjugation…”

Really ? Just one thing missing here … ! The 911 attacks ! The US invasion of Afghanistan was a totally justified act of war for the Taliban for not handing Bin Laden and his Islamofascist comrades over to justice. Roshan Salih needs to get over his Crusader paranoia.

Perhaps Roshan Muhammed Salih would like to leave the privileged position he has in the West and go live with the Taliban. Good luck to him. Only a matter of time before he would be crying and wanting to come back.

Oh. By the way. I notice you سيف الله also live in the west. I presume you support Roshan Salihs view. Then maybe you should also go and live with the Taliban. Renounce your UK passport. I dare you too !
Reply

Eric H
12-01-2021, 04:54 PM
Greetings and peace be with you Spiritlead;

format_quote Originally Posted by Spiritlead
Really ? Just one thing missing here … ! The 911 attacks ! The US invasion of Afghanistan was a totally justified act of war for the Taliban for not handing Bin Laden and his Islamofascist comrades over to justice.
The US lead invasion was totally unjust;

During the War in Afghanistan, according to the Costs of War Project the war killed 176,000 people in Afghanistan; 46,319 civilians, 69,095 military and police and at least 52,893 opposition fighters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civili...%E2%80%932021)
Of the 46,000 civilians who died, how many of them were guilty of the 9/11 attack?

9/11 can't be used to justify invading Iraq. They used the unjust notion of looking for invisible WMD's. This makes America the biggest hypocrite; because they have the biggest stockpile of WMD's in their own backyard. Hundreds of thousands died in Iraq, and there are two million plus refugees.

format_quote Originally Posted by Spiritlead
The US invasion of Afghanistan was a totally justified act of war
The greatest commandments are to love God and your neighbours. And to love and pray for your enemies. Self defence might be considered a justification for war. But this justifies Iraq and not America.
Reply

iammuslim98
12-02-2021, 01:13 AM
Aoa. Really? Afghanistan taliban won? At what cost? Economy tarnished, social life destroyed, infrastructure demolished, food crisis at peak and deteriorating community .
Reply

Spiritlead
12-02-2021, 11:08 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Eric H
Greetings and peace be with you Spiritlead;



The US lead invasion was totally unjust;



Of the 46,000 civilians who died, how many of them were guilty of the 9/11 attack?

9/11 can't be used to justify invading Iraq. They used the unjust notion of looking for invisible WMD's. This makes America the biggest hypocrite; because they have the biggest stockpile of WMD's in their own backyard. Hundreds of thousands died in Iraq, and there are two million plus refugees.



The greatest commandments are to love God and your neighbours. And to love and pray for your enemies. Self defence might be considered a justification for war. But this justifies Iraq and not America.
Hello Eric thank you for your reply.

I disagree. The US was totally justified in invading Afghanistan (but not Iraq) following the 911 attacks. It was a matter of self defence. It they did not invade then Al Queda and Osama Bin Laden would have continued to use Afghanistan as a base to launch future attacks.

I agree. The greatest commandments are for individual Christians to love God and your neighbours. And to love and pray for your enemies. However this is for the behaviour of individual Christians on a personal level. Not for governments. Romans 13.4 reads- authority is God’s servant for your good…. for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer…
Governments have a responsibility to protect and care for their citizens. Governments have the responsibility to protect their citizens from outside threats.

Yes it is sad how many civilians died in Afghanistan. It is sad that is the fact of war. However it is the Taliban that needs to be held responsible here, not the USA. As it was the Taliban that was partly reposnsible for the 911 attacks.
I agree with you about Iraq. But we are not talking about Iraq. We are talking about Afghanistan.
Reply

سيف الله
12-08-2021, 12:26 AM
Salaam

Like to share, lengthy but enlightening interview on brothers Roshans experience in Afghanistan.



Another interview on the same subject.



format_quote Originally Posted by iammuslim98
Aoa. Really? Afghanistan taliban won? At what cost? Economy tarnished, social life destroyed, infrastructure demolished, food crisis at peak and deteriorating community .
Yes it is a victory no matter what the naysayers whine. Costly, no sane person denies, but sometimes thats the price one must pay to defend your society from foreign onslaught.

Now they have to win the peace, its a long hard road, will take them decades to regain stability and sustained development. First prio will be to bring all sectors of Afghan society together and chart a course ahead.. Inshallah they will succeed in time

Oh and the great defenders of 'freedom' and 'democracy' 'human rights' etc are currently economically strangling Afghanistan. No doubt to punish them for their disobedience. Not a new phenomena if you study history (eg. USA has done this a lot).
Reply

Eric H
12-08-2021, 01:29 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Spiritlead
The US was totally justified in invading Afghanistan following the 911 attacks.
America has invaded around 50 countries since WW2. How many countries has the Taliban invaded?

www.countercurrents.org › The US Has Invaded 70 Nations Since 1776 – and has invaded a total of about 50 countries since 1945.
format_quote Originally Posted by Spiritlead
It was a matter of self defence.
There are 50 countries in the world who could claim self defence against America. This makes America the biggest hypocrite when it claims self defence.
Reply

Spiritlead
12-12-2021, 06:34 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Eric H
America has invaded around 50 countries since WW2. How many countries has the Taliban invaded?

There are 50 countries in the world who could claim self defence against America. This makes America the biggest hypocrite when it claims self defence.
Hello Eric
50 countries ! Really ! Please list them.

You view of US Foreign policy post WW 2 is naïve and simplistic. Yes the US did some extreme things over this time but this was in the context of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

If it wasn’t for the US then the would be living under the tyranny of fascist Germany or Japan.
If it wasn’t for the US then the would be living under the tyranny of the Godless Soviet Union.

My point stands about Al Queda and the Taliban. The US had to defend it self from the Islmofascists after 911.
Reply

سيف الله
03-17-2022, 01:06 PM
Salaam

Like to share.



Blurb

It’s been six months since the Taliban swept across Afghanistan to seize power in recently vacated Kabul.

Last August, as thousands of petrified Afghans tried to flee the country, the West watched aghast and ashamed by the fate of those who had been left to live under Taliban rule.

Now, six months on and the country has returned to a tentative reality.

But people here are guarded and much like the Northern Ireland of the 70s and 80s, you don’t talk politics or religion.

The government of the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’, AKA the Taliban, has come to government at a challenging time.

The West, in response to its takeover last August, blocked access to the country’s foreign currency reserves and sanctions against Taliban leaders have stopped foreign investment.

They can no longer cover government salaries and aid agencies are picking up the tab for medical and teaching staff.

With NGOs warning that 97% of the population will fall under the poverty line by the middle of this year, the Taliban government desperately needs access to the reserves currently blocked by the US.

Abdul Qahar Balkhis, Talib spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says that the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan is entirely man-made.






Sensible. Reminds me of the phrase Swords to ploughshares. There is some disgruntlement amongst the rank and file about the direction Taliban are going but theres needs to be a middle path.



More discussion on the aftermath of the Western occupation.

Blurb

Dr. Syed is joined by special guest Ustadh Moazzam Begg, former detainee at Guantanamo Bay, author, War on Terror consultant and human rights advocate to discuss the current events happening in Afghanistan.

They discuss how the Taliban were able to reclaim control of the country, the far reaching impacts of the War on Terror and acts committed by Western powers, Ustadh Moazzam's own personal experience as a prisoner of war and much more!


Reply

Spiritlead
03-17-2022, 08:59 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by سيف الله
Salaam

Like to share.



Blurb

It’s been six months since the Taliban swept across Afghanistan to seize power in recently vacated Kabul.

Last August, as thousands of petrified Afghans tried to flee the country, the West watched aghast and ashamed by the fate of those who had been left to live under Taliban rule.

Now, six months on and the country has returned to a tentative reality.

But people here are guarded and much like the Northern Ireland of the 70s and 80s, you don’t talk politics or religion.

The government of the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’, AKA the Taliban, has come to government at a challenging time.

The West, in response to its takeover last August, blocked access to the country’s foreign currency reserves and sanctions against Taliban leaders have stopped foreign investment.

They can no longer cover government salaries and aid agencies are picking up the tab for medical and teaching staff.

With NGOs warning that 97% of the population will fall under the poverty line by the middle of this year, the Taliban government desperately needs access to the reserves currently blocked by the US.

Abdul Qahar Balkhis, Talib spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says that the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan is entirely man-made.






Sensible.



More discussion on the aftermath of the Western occupation.

Blurb

Dr. Syed is joined by special guest Ustadh Moazzam Begg, former detainee at Guantanamo Bay, author, War on Terror consultant and human rights advocate to discuss the current events happening in Afghanistan.

They discuss how the Taliban were able to reclaim control of the country, the far reaching impacts of the War on Terror and acts committed by Western powers, Ustadh Moazzam's own personal experience as a prisoner of war and much more!


Yes the humanitarian crisis is man made. Man made by the Taliban and Afgani people themselves.

Why blame the West and the US for the humanitarian situation there. The US went into Afghanistan to defend themselves from the Islamofascists responsible for the 911 attack.
The West spent billions on nation building after the defeat of Al Queda and the Taliban.
The Taliban only managed to come back after the West withdrew. The Afgani people decided it was the Taliban they wanted and rejected the benefits that the West provided and would have continued to provide.

So the question remains, why should the West supply aid to an enemy ? Of course it should not. Why supply further economic aid to people that has sided with an enemy ?

If Muslims want to be upset then blame the lack of aid on the community of Muslim nations.
Reply

سيف الله
03-18-2022, 09:30 PM
Salaam

Guess whos back in Afghanistan.



Blurb

5Pillars editor, Roshan Muhammed Salih, walks around a market in Kabul meeting and speaking with local Afghans.



Woman continue to work



Normality slowly returning.

Reply

AabiruSabeel
03-19-2022, 07:17 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Spiritlead
The Afgani people decided it was the Taliban they wanted and rejected the benefits that the West provided and would have continued to provide.
There are people who value their freedom, security, peace, safety, and sovereignty more than money that comes with subjugation.
Reply

Spiritlead
03-20-2022, 03:50 AM
Its wasn't subjugation. It was the US defending itself from the Islamic fascists responsible for 911. But if the Afghani people decide (and Im not sure most have) they would rather live under medieval fascists like the Taliban good luck to them.
Reply

سيف الله
03-25-2022, 11:43 PM
Salaam

Like to share. Roshan heads south to Kandahar.

Blurb

5Pillars editor Roshan Muhammed Salih travels to Kandahar, a place where few Western journalists have ventured since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was formed.



Interview with former prisoner.

Blurb

Din Mohammed Farhad, who was tortured by the Americans at Bagram base in Kabul and at Guantanamo Bay, tells 5Pillars he has seen the true face of the West. #Afghanistan #America #Bagram



Taliban demonstrating its flexibility.

Blurb

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has reluctantly allowed Nowruz celebrations to take place. Nowruz is based on Zoroastrian beliefs and is considered haram (forbidden) by the vast majority of Sunni scholars.


Reply

سيف الله
04-17-2022, 10:18 PM
Salaam

Like to share.

Reply

سيف الله
04-23-2022, 11:08 PM
Salaam

Forgot to post this, this is Roshans last video before he left.

How can the Ummah help Afghanistan?

Roshan Muhammed Salih looks at practical ways the Ummah can help Afghanistan stand on its own two feet as draconian Western sanctions and a lack of international recognition imperil the new Islamic Emirate.


Reply

سيف الله
06-04-2022, 09:14 PM
Salaam

No big suprises but gives good insight into how individuals and big business operated and profited in Afghanistan ( and Iraq)

Here's Who REALLY Won the War in Afghanistan

War is big business in the U.S. Here are some of the people who got crazy rich off the war in Afghanistan.



Having said that this skimming of the top didnt effect US military performance as much, (compare this with Russian military performance in Ukraine where Corruption has had a negative effect)

Again not new, theres a long history.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26O-2SVcrw0
Reply

Spiritlead
07-27-2022, 12:27 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by سيف الله
Salaam

No big suprises but gives good insight into how individuals and big business operated and profited in Afghanistan ( and Iraq)

Here's Who REALLY Won the War in Afghanistan

War is big business in the U.S. Here are some of the people who got crazy rich off the war in Afghanistan.



Having said that this skimming of the top didnt effect US military performance as much, (compare this with Russian military performance in Ukraine where Corruption has had a negative effect)

Again not new, theres a long history.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26O-2SVcrw0
Whether the above is true or not. Lets not lose sight of the fact that it was the Muslim fascists of Al Queda and the Taliban that started the whole tragic war.
Reply

سيف الله
10-13-2022, 04:15 PM
Yes, Ill take the bait.

Yes yes yes that buzzword. Anybody not of your political persuasion, call it fascism. Its so overused that its lost most of its meaning. Many have made the same point. eg. Orwell decades ago.

In 1944, the English writer, democratic socialist, and anti-fascist George Orwell wrote about the term's overuse as an epithet, arguing: "It will be seen that, as used, the word 'Fascism' is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print.
The American response to the attacks was not justified (and thats putting it mildly). As subsequent history has shown.



The rest of your spiel is little better than white mans burden rhetoric.

What you imagine it to be.



Versus the reality.



Heres some advice. Before your country goes of on another rampage in the name of 'freedom' 'democracy' 'human rights' 'womans rights' or whatever is the latest fashionable snake oil (and no, invading a country to save the LGBTXYZ123+- brigade isn't going to cut it). Take a look at your own society.

Lets start with your leadership class.



And more generally.

It’s Time For The United States To Divorce Before Things Get Dangerous

You can agree or disagree with this analysis but theres little doubt America has serious internal problems that aren't going to be wished away.

Exhibit A

I didn't realize you had to be a qualified biologist to determine what is a man or woman.



Exhibit B

Another school shooting, I understand this has almost become a regular feature.



Deal with your own dysfunction rather than imposing your dysfunctional 'values' on others. Shocking as this may sound not everyone wants to be 'Amercanised'.
Reply

سيف الله
10-17-2022, 08:08 PM
Salaam

On to more happier news.

On this edition of The Big Picture, we look at the successes and failures of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan one year after they took power in August 2021.



Lots of comments, this one stood out for me.


unknownpng


i watched the whole session with interest , it was very instructive . it is always a pleasure to see your muslim brothers and sisters from different countries , may Allah help Afghanistan . and may Allah bless the 5pillars team. love from Morocco
Reply

سيف الله
11-29-2022, 01:11 PM
Salaam

Another update.

Roshan Muhammed Salih talks to Afghanistan expert Hameedullah Oryakhil about all the latest happenings in Afghanistan - from the dire economic and humanitarian situation, to stricter enforcement of Shari'ah law, to girl's education and women's rights.

Reply

سيف الله
12-28-2022, 12:16 AM
Salaam

The decision to ban Womens University education (temporary or otherwise) is a deeply disappointing, but as always theres more to it then meets the eye. Lots to be said but Ill post this article and get the ball rolling.



As the Taliban ban on girls’ schools is expanded to universities, Ahmed-Waleed Kakar examines a century of politicised education in Afghanistan.

Much has been said about the new Taliban government in the sixteen months since their August 2021 takeover. Had the Taliban changed? If so, was this part of a wider ideological re-orientation, or due to political maturity? Front and centre in all discussions was one topic: girls’ schools.

Girls’ schools between grades six and twelve were closed following the Taliban takeover. Schools would be opened, it was initially promised, on 23rd March. Hours into that day, the academic year’s first, schools were again closed ‘until further notice,’ and have remained closed since. After months of contradictory explanations and unrelenting chorus of (inter)national criticism, Kabul finally settled on an explanation. ‘The government is trying,’ said Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ‘to take an approach that is gradual.’ This was due to a ‘large percentage of society that has very strict ideas on what women can do and what they cannot do.’ The closure was ‘a temporary suspension,’ not a ban. (1)

Then came yesterday’s edict. Civil servants were to ‘urgently implement’ in universities the existing ban on girls’ schools, again, ‘until further notice’. Girls are officially barred from university (2), and outrage is boiling.

Ancient is the debate on ‘good’ education versus ‘bad’ indoctrination: discussed by minds as old, and as great, as Plato’s. The debate is not, contrary to disproportionate coverage, exclusive to Afghanistan. Even Western classrooms find themselves subject to a lengthening shadow of navigating increasingly polarising social issues, including those as foundational as gender.

Otherwise diametrically opposed foes, the Soviet Union and United States shared a surprising level of similarities as far as their occupations of Afghanistan were concerned. From an Afghan perspective, both occupations constituted phases of one war that ended only with the Taliban’s takeover. Both secured Afghan cities whilst confronted by a surrounding sea of expansive, increasingly hostile countryside. Both struggled with Pakistani assistance to insurgencies. Both insurgencies, in turn, shared the same DNA: rural and Islamic. This was despite the US in 2001 coopting some anti-Soviet mujahideen, now loyal to an occupier in exchange for her favours.

Wherein the two were remarkably similar, however, was the embellishment of their occupations. Geopolitics dictated the impetus to invade Afghanistan. Yet the Kremlin and Washington alike invoked higher values to galvanise support for what quickly descended into bloody, increasingly unpopular military occupations. Russians, Americans and Afghans alike were told repeatedly that occupation would herald a new dawn. A new chapter of modernity that had thus far eluded Afghanistan beckoned, underpinned by education and women’s rights.

‘Peace will be achieved,’ President Bush promised in 2002, ‘by helping Afghanistan develop its own stable government [and] through an education system for boys and girls.’ Afghanistan would ‘develop an economy that can feed its people without feeding the world’s demand for drugs.’ (3) As it turned out, not quite. The US, like the Kremlin, ended its occupation. Both times, troops were withdrawn, client regimes collapsed, and religiously conservative insurgencies, hardened by the above, barged into power.

As the dust on Afghanistan settled, the consequences of decades of politicising education and women’s rights were laid bare. Tainted were the values in whose name war was waged and the country subject to occupation. Now victorious, the insurgencies represented the blocs wherein those sentiments were strongest; sentiments soon enshrined in policy. In post American-Afghanistan, it is modern education that has emerged as a source of contention, and not for the first time.

‘Afghan men,’ a BBC guest recently claimed, ‘stand behind the Taliban,’ in their policies toward women. That was part of an answer to the presenter, who asked why Afghan men, like Iranian men, were not protesting for women’s rights (4). It wasn’t just the question, betraying a lack of any appreciation for the vast differences between the two countries, that was jaw-dropping. The guest, even after a bigotry-reeking answer, remained unchallenged by the presenter. In full force is mainstream media’s tried and tested modus operandi: hysterical sensationalism.

Blanket racism against Afghans is normalised on international fora, and deeper developments remain ignored. One such development is the Taliban’s recent book: The Islamic Emirate and Her System. For those discontented with dim-witted questions and even shoddier answers, such developments are not merely noteworthy; their dissection is imperative. Covering legislation, judiciary, and, most importantly, education, the book is a watershed. It is the Taliban’s first peacetime attempt to articulate, on their own terms, their philosophy toward governance. Its significance is compounded by its author: Shaykh Abdul-Hakim Haqqani.

Haqqani

Haqqani hails from the group’s coterie of madrassa-graduated religious mashran (elders) from the Afghan deep south. His rank was displayed in Doha. Chief of the Taliban delegation, Haqqani led talks during intra-Afghan negotiations; negotiations made redundant with the Taliban’s military victory. Tutor to all three Taliban leaders thus far and known as ‘ustad al-ulama’ (teacher of scholars), Haqqani boasts a scholarly pedigree commanding the respect, and reportedly, even the deference, of Amir Hebatullah Akhundzada. His importance cannot be overstated. Now Chief Justice, it is Haqqani, above others, tasked with achieving the politico-legal goal of making the Taliban’s Emirate, true to its name, sufficiently Islamic. Whether feasible or ill-advised, Haqqani’s role in the endeavour is telling.

‘We do not,’ Haqqani declares, ‘deny the importance of modern education.’ Nor, despite a caveat on which he expands, ‘do we deny its permissibility or necessity.’ It was ‘obligatory’, however, ‘for an [Islamic] state to prioritise religious education over secular education’. Secular education should be incorporated into and under the umbrella of a wider religious education. Separating the two, per Haqqani, was akin to relegating the religious to the secular.

Haqqani has probably never read Professor Wael Hallaq of Columbia. His objection toward bifurcating religious and secular education, though, is almost identical to Hallaq’s broader assessment of secularism. Through the lens ‘of political theology,’ Hallaq postulates, ‘secularism is the murder of God by the State,’ as the ‘state can delimit, limit, exclude and curtail any religious practice and thus has the power to determine the quality and quantity of the religious sphere as it sees fit.’ In this paradigm, the state did not conform to a religious framework, but religion was subject to the state definition of religion, and thus state power. ‘The state,’ therefore, ‘is the ultimate Sovereign.’ (5)

Similarly, separating religious and secular education was the ascendance of the temporal over the spiritual. It empowered an outside, non-religious authority to decide for religion what it was, and what it was not. Haqqani’s criticism against this is not just excoriating; it was to be stopped ‘with the most forceful of means,’ constituting a plot ‘to corrupt the moral uprightness of Muslims and deviate them from the religion of God.’ This bifurcation was not responsible just for instability in Afghanistan; it was responsible for the decline of the Islamic world as a whole.

In April, I wrote about the reinstituted Ministry of Vice and Virtue (6). Like that Ministry and its surrounding controversy, the debate over education has a lengthy, pre-Taliban history. Controversy over schooling started almost immediately following initial state modernisation attempts. Debate over education and its separation (or lack thereof) between religious and secular is part of a larger theme: the ongoing and unresolved dialectic between modernity on one hand and the largely classical religious framework on the other. That framework, commonly derided as outdated, proved resilient, persisting through Kabul’s repeated, bloody and ultimately unsuccessful attempts at destroying it. Too often, this was done with foreign assistance. Modernity itself was tainted with memories of foreign armies, Soviet or American, and their repeated assaults on everything Afghan.

The Troubled Beginnings of Afghan Education

The nineteenth century was traumatic from an Afghan standpoint. Previously an empire, Afghanistan was now a buffer state sandwiched between and at the mercy of Russia and British India. The British had twice invaded. Twice ousting them, Afghanistan had, in the process, ceded to Britain territory and control over its foreign affairs. Of some solace was the late nineteenth century’s unprecedented statebuilding and centralisation. By the twentieth century, Afghan elites, joined by Afghans returning from exile and in growing sync with the wider world, were coming to a growing realisation: Afghanistan was in dire need of modernisation. One Afghan, returning from Ottoman exile and a relative of the royal family, was particularly important: Mahmud Tarzi. He had new ideas.

The efforts of Tarzi’s Young Afghans (inspired by the Young Turks) led Afghanistan’s first modern school in 1904. Kabul’s Habibiyya taught biology, chemistry, history, Pashto (promoted as a national language) and Turkish (demonstrating Ottoman influence) (7). Afghanistan was entering modernity slowly, but controversially; traditional curricula had operated under the aegis of the madrassa system with the ulama at the helm. Modern schooling triggered their opposition; many were paranoid about wider changes a Western education could engender. The compromise was that admission into Habibiyya was conditional on completing the primary and secondary stages of madrassa (8).

Prevalent historiography predictably depicts Tarzi as a ‘progressive’ advocate of (Western) education. His detractors, on the other hand, easily fit the archetype of powerful and religious men hellbent on backwardness and opposing enlightenment. Tarzi’s push for education, however, was part of his pan-Islamism: largely in response to the European imperialism with which both the Ottoman Empire and Afghanistan were confronted. Tarzi believed the panacea to be modern education, to which the ulama had little exposure and less understanding. Their antipathy was specifically toward Western education. Parallels to the present day are glaring.

This historiography and logical conclusions thereof underpin contemporary coverage of Afghanistan. Lazily relying on a bland salad of orientalist tropes and obsolete Hegelian terminology, frequently used are the omnipresent binaries of ‘backwards’ versus ‘progress’. The discourse refuses to address the unresolved tensions that contribute to the seemingly unending Afghan cycle of being back and forthwith each militarily induced change of government, between revolution and counter revolution, progressive forces versus reactionary forces, ‘good’ versus ‘bad.’ In doing so, contemporary discourse contributed directly to war. Arbitrarily defined ‘moderate’ heroes were lionised against religious villains, identified far too often, with deadly consequences for thousands of Afghan men, with beards and turbans.

Amidst this, fundamentally ignored is the uncomfortable reality that Afghanistan under the Taliban has not gone ‘backwards,’ in the same way that, despite passionate claims to the contrary, it never truly ‘progressed’ during two decades of American occupation. The glaring testament to this is Afghanistan being lurched side to side, ground continually by the opposing poles of ideologues and the reactionaries they breed.

Tarzi was directly challenging an understanding of education in place for centuries. Inherent to Tarzi’s preferred education was the secular-religious distinction; a distinction that was anathema to the classical Islamic curricula for centuries prevalent in Afghanistan and the wider Islamic world (9). This style of education was not just prevalent but persists to the present day. Akif Muhajir, the Ministry of Vice and Virtue’s spokesman whom I interviewed, studied at Pakistan’s infamous Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa. His curriculum incorporated logic and philosophy besides Quran and hadith under the wider umbrella of a religious education.

‘Islam refuses,’ then Prince of Wales and now King Charles III admiringly affirmed in 1993, ‘to separate man and nature, religion and science, mind and matter, and has preserved a metaphysical and unified view of ourselves and [our] world.’ To his surprise, probable discomfort and with no shortage of irony, nodding in agreement with Charles on classical Islam’s lack of religious-secular distinction would be none other than Afghan Chief Justice and Taliban ideologue: Abdul Hakim Haqqani. (10)

It was already likely that there would be opposition to Tarzi and modern education; it became inevitable with the extremity of attempts at implementation. When Tarzi’s mentee and son-in-law Amanullah assumed the throne, he aimed to transform his impoverished kingdom into a modern state. Initially careful to align himself with Islamic orthodoxy, Amanullah even won the backing of some influential ulama for reforms. He opened the country’s first girls’ school and, in 1924, attempted to promulgate its first codified constitution. Strong religious backing notwithstanding, Amanullah still came under growing domestic pressure; pressure he sought to offset by going as far as Delhi’s Deobandi Mufti Kifayatullah for a fatwa (legal edict) on girls’ education. Amanullah was, the Mufti explained, the Islamic ruler and ‘shadow of God on Earth’: compelled to ensure religious norms on gender segregation were upheld and ‘immorality’ prevented. Beyond that, the Mufti wrote, the modern age necessitated a widening of education, and the pursuit of ‘knowledge is a necessity of a human soul, whether male or female.’ Any justification, as such, ‘differentiating between men and women in this regard does not exist in the Sharia.’(11)

Education’s Foreignness and Amanullah’s High Modernism

By 1928, Amanullah was frustrated by his lack of progress, caring little for religious sensibilities. He announced sweeping measures. Coeducation would be compulsory for children and foreign-run schools were to be established in all provinces. Afghans, including girls, would be sent to study abroad. This was part of a broader package of reforms. These included the official holiday being shifted from the Islamic Friday to Thursday. Kabulis would henceforth wear European clothes. Polygamy was to be abolished (12). Even Tarzi, the erstwhile modernist, was appalled. The message derived by Amanullah’s opponents was clear: modern education formed part of a wider crusade against everything Afghan, whether Islam, gender segregation, even clothing.

Demands were eventually presented to Amanullah. He was to divorce his wife: a driving force behind his reforms and photographed without a hijab in Europe. He was to reinstitute the veil and lift the ban on polygamy. In a staggering display of how politicised girls’ education had become, he was demanded to close all girls’ schools and recall all girls sent abroad for education (13). Islamic jurists had, for centuries, posited that the sultan (ruler) was God’s shadow on Earth. That, however, was contingent on the Sultan’s sharia-compliant rule. Through anti-Islamic reforms, Amanullah had overstepped his prerogative, forfeiting his Islamic legitimacy, and soon enough, his throne itself. Overthrown and to die in exile in 1960, Amanullah’s legacy, rooted in his moronic understanding of modernity, vindicated those who had from the beginning warned against modern education. Casting a long shadow, he haunts Afghanistan to the present day.

Amanullah’s attempts at mandating schooling were a Western inspired ‘prescription for immorality and promiscuity.’ That, at least, was the view of Kabul’s ex-governor, Neda Muhammad Nadeem, in a video that went viral wherein Nadeem castigated Amanullah (14). Taliban sources denied the authenticity of the account sharing the video, purporting to be Nadeem’s official account, but the video remained alarming. Nadeem was not just a senior Talib, he was also Shaykh al-Hadith; his influence bound to be augmented by his credentials.

Most concerning, though, was Nadeem’s recent appointment as Minister of Higher Education by Amir Hebatullah himself, and what this could possibly mean for education overall. Subsequent videos showed Nadeem, following his appointment as Minister, talking of bridging ‘the gap between the school and the madrassa,’ echoing Haqqani’s objection to the secular-religious distinction. (15) Soon enough, it was Nadeem that signed the communique ordering the ‘urgent’ ban of girls from university. There was, unsurprisingly, no explanation on how banning secondary schools and universities bridged the school-madrassa gap. Or why this applied to one gender alone.

Amanullah’s attitude was reminiscent of what James Scott termed ‘high modernism’: utilising the state in the top down reorganisation of society to achieve material progress (16). Amanullah was perhaps the first to embody and attempt to implement that zeitgeist yet he would, as the decades transpired, certainly not be the last.

In 1978, just under half a century after Amanullah’s overthrow, President Daud and seventeen family members were killed in a communist coup. Soon thereafter, Afghanistan was plunged into a forty year war. The perpetrators, with Nur Muhammad Taraki at their vanguard, saw themselves as heirs to Amanullah’s crusade for modernity. Even their coup was presented as righting a historical wrong; celebrating the end of a dynasty that had usurped Amanullah’s throne. Like Amanullah, Taraki’s reforms attempted to curtail polygamy, and went further: arresting and executing imams en masse. Where Amanullah once derided the ulama as superstitious and exploitative (17), and spoke of ‘discarding old outworn ideas and customs [being] the great secret of success,’ (18) Taraki asserted:

‘We respect the principles of Islam….but religion must not be used by those who want to sabotage progress. We want to cleanse Islam in Afghanistan of the ballast and dirt of bad traditions, superstition and erroneous belief. Thereafter we will have progressive, modern and pure Islam.’ (19)

Amanullah and Taraki alike shared their fundamental high modernism, necessitating cutting religion down to size. Both castigated their religious opponents: either self-interested, superstitious or exploitative. Taraki’s high modernism went further than Amanullah’s: buttressed by a greater means and readiness for brutality and relegating Afghanistan to the ideological and military power of the Soviet Union, but it was high modernism nonetheless. Every action has a reaction, and every phase of high-modernism bred a religious counterpart, the latest iteration being the Taliban.

Amanullah was overthrown by his former soldier: illiterate bandit now self-styled ‘Servant of the Religion of the Prophet,’ Habibullah Kalakani. Kalakani promptly closed all schools, imposed restrictions on women leaving their homes, and, in glaring testament to Amanullah’s reforms being tainted with foreignness, announced a ban on teaching ‘the languages of foreigners and kuffar [infidels].’ Uncomfortably for some, Kalakani was a Tajik, contradicting the view that opposition to schooling was rooted in Pashtun cultural norms. He was ousted nine months later in 1929 by Amanullah’s clansman: Nader Khan. (20)

Nader was, albeit cautious, a moderniser. He did, however, disagree with Amanullah’s high modernism. Forcing new ideas on society was not government prerogative, nor was it necessary. Islam and progress could, he asserted, ‘march side by side,’ as Islam did ‘not constitutionally prohibit progress.’ Such statements may have been expedient; his kingship was born out of an alliance with a clergy eager to enthrone a sober ally. Yet Nader did not deny his belief in modernisation. It was, indeed, a medicine; a medicine that Amanullah had administered in a dosage that was ‘tenfold stronger than prescribed by the doctor.’ (21). Wary of clerical influence and widespread disdain for education borne of Amanullah’s erraticism, however, Nader towed a careful line. He and his successors’ approach was gradual but, in hindsight, yet to be replicated in success.

Playing a delicate balancing act, Nader traded limited modernisation with deference to religious sensitivities still inflamed by Amanullah. He succeeded in making primary schooling compulsory. Foreigners could continue teaching in Afghan schools. They could no longer, however, open new schools or direct them. Education was to remain firmly under government control, ensuring its adherence to Islamic tenets, determined by a Nader-appointed body of clergy (22). Concurrently, Afghanistan’s first modern morality police was instituted and initially, at least, girls’ schools remained shut. Girls were forbidden from study abroad. Like Amanullah before him, an Indian scholar wrote to Nader. Mawlana Najaf Ali, Amanullah’s former teacher, pleaded with Nader to open girls’ schools (23). History, per the adage, repeats itself. When pertaining to Afghanistan, it is doubly and depressingly so. In 2022, another scholar from the Indian subcontinent, Mufti Taqi Usmani, appealed to another Afghan government to open girls’ schools. (24) His plea was not just ignored, but girls were barred from university to boot.

Effective but brutally authoritarian, Nader’s reign ended prematurely as he was killed in 1933. Yet he and his successors could boast of success in their consultative approach toward the country’s conservatives. Afghanistan’s first medical school, later Kabul University, was established in 1932. The following decades saw a slow return to initiatives made taboo by association with Amanullah’s anti-Islamic reforms. Girls’ schools, initially secretly, were reopened, and universities were established; religious and secular sciences were taught separately therein. Statebuilding could be a dangerous endeavour rurally; a safe focus on infrastructure ensured slow but prudent expansion of government writ.

There was, however, a catch. Foreigners, principally Indian Muslims and Turks, were heavily relied upon from the dawn of schooling. As decades passed and antipathy toward schooling seemed to dampen, a chronic shortage of teachers ensured education remained subcontracted and insufficiently Afghan. The top brass of schools remained foreign. There was the Soviet built Kabul Polytechnic University for engineering, the Amanullah era German Nejat college, the French-run Lycees Istiqlal and Malalai (for girls), and the English Ghazi College to name a few. Kabul University’s varying faculties were sponsored by France, the US and Britain. The University’s theology department was closely linked to Egypt’s Al-Azhar. Amidst the Cold War, military officers increasingly went to the Soviet Union for training. The consequences became clear in 1978’s communist coup.

Enter Haqqani


That is why, at least according to the Taliban’s Chief Justice, things went wrong. ‘Delving excessively in modern sciences destroys [religious] belief and acts of worship,’ Haqqani declares. Earlier Islamic generations, Haqqani maintains, achieved worldly success only through prioritising the Quran and Sunnah; a prioritisation that had been lost and led to a decline of religious scholarship that had, over centuries, been in full swing. Haqqani charged al-Ma’mun, the notorious ninth century Mu’tazili Abbasid Caliph, as being the first to overemphasise worldly sciences. The modern secular-religious divide took this misprioritisation to new heights by officially relegating religion. This was responsible broadly for Islam’s weakness, and specifically for 1978’s communist ‘revolution against the government of Afghanistan.’ Alluding to the outsized Western role in education, Haqqani lambasts schools as places where even ‘the uniforms are European.’

Haqqani’s tirade against schooling is unsurprising. Schools had, due to their foreignness, long served as incubators of foreign ideas and resultant political unrest. This went back to the establishment of the Habibiyya; it quickly spawned a constitutionalist movement. By the mid 20th century and Cold War, schools were a conduit for a slew of foreign ideas creeping into the country. Foremost amongst them was communism.

As President, Hafizullah Amin oversaw an unprecedented apex of state terror that even his Soviet allies warned him against. His background, however, was far less violent. Amin was a teacher by trade; he had lectured at the Education and Teaching Faculty at Kabul University, served as principal at both the prestigious Dar-ul Mu’alimeen (Teacher Training School), Ibn Sina (Avicenna) schools, and the government’s newly established Teacher Training Institute. Per his biography, as teacher, he busied himself with ‘enlightening socio-political understanding and making the democratic movement among the students and teachers highly powerful.’ Too ambitious to content himself with radicalising mere students, Amin had set his sights on indoctrinating their teachers. (25)

Communism was not the only ideology seeping into the country, but its adherents’ belligerence toward religion made it most striking. Many were of rural stock, almost all were either foreign or state educated. Taraki was first exposed to Marxism in British India. Soon confronted by the Herat Uprising after his 1978 coup, Taraki begged the Kremlin for military support. He could rely, he confessed, ‘only [on] students of the Lyceums, pupils of the eldest forms and a small number of workers.’ (26) His confession simultaneously underscored communist unpopularity together with the importance of state education in radicalisation into communism. Amin, who succeeded Taraki by suffocating him, had studied in the USA. After killing Amin, the Soviets installed Babrak Karmal as President: a graduate of the German Nejat College and foreign sponsored Kabul University. Karmal’s successor, Dr. Najib, was a graduate of Kabul University’s Medical Faculty.

Many, however, remained convinced by modern schooling. In cities but also in the countryside, schooling was not just seen as part of a national duty to modernise the country. It was also a religious obligation based on the Quranic injunction to ‘read’. According to one saying popularly attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), it was part of a commandment for Muslims to seek knowledge even afar as China.

Claiming that most Afghans disagreed would be far-fetched. Enough Afghans, however, did. This reality became undeniable as scepticism toward schooling survived and reared its head decades later to be practically implemented under the first and now second Taliban Emirates. The rise of communism coincided with laxer enforcement of Islamic norms in cities. A golden age for some; for others, it only deepened the conceptualisation of modernity, and its schools, as avenues of anti-Islamic influence.

Now immortalised in classical Arabic in his book, that conceptualisation is summarised by Haqqani in bleak terms. With religion relegated to a footnote in secular curricula, permeated by a wider atmosphere of ‘immorality and irreligion,’ and rampant freemixing, schools are, Haqqani contends, ‘amongst the greatest barriers between Muslims and Islam, and the greatest preventors of the teaching of the Quran, the rulings of the Sharia, and the moral uprightness of Muslims.’

The pre-Taliban antipathy toward schooling was recollected by pre-eminent Afghan historian Muhammad Hassan Kakar. A tribal elder from Paktia in the 1980s had narrated to Kakar how Kabul, decades earlier, approved plans for local road and school construction. Locals had generally acquiesced, with the exception of his valley’s elders: convinced by a holy man to oppose the plans. Decades later, in the 1980s, the other valleys were subject to the destruction of their own sons turned communists as a result of the schools. With neither school nor roads, theirs was the only valley spared of the violence. The holy man was right. ‘Common people destroyed schools from the foundation. The educated persons became discredited, and the mullahs became unrivalled rulers.’ (27)

The Taliban founding fathers thus grew up in a milieu subsumed in the same attitudes. Per one Taliban official, the movement’s previous leader, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, had attended school in his native Maiwand in Qandahar. A prodigious talent, Mansour was soon enough noticed by his teachers. Customary for children of his intelligence, they recommended the young Mansour be sent to Kabul for higher education. His mother, however, was horrified. Apostasy, as she saw it, was inevitable in Kabul. ‘I would rather,’ she proclaimed ‘that he dies in front of me.’

Mansour went on, as far as technology, media and schooling were concerned, to be the movement’s most permissive leader. His Taliban predecessors, successors, and his own mother, however, all shared an ambivalence toward schooling. Mansour was later killed in a 2016 US drone strike. The one Taliban leader that the US managed to kill was the one that would who died at US hands to be one they would find most agreeable. The irony.

By the Soviet occupation, hostility toward schooling had hardened further. Schooling had been identified, as early as Amin, as the the engine of social engineering in the creation of a Marxist utopia. Curricula, replete with communist propaganda, was the fuel. Deliberately ‘void of Islamic studies and Afghani culture,’ these curricula, according to Dr. Zuhra Faizi, provoked opposition toward state schooling even in urban centres, including Kabul. No longer was it confined to a countryside otherwise liable to easily being dismissed as backward. So bitter was opposition to these curricula that even Afghan refugees in Pakistan were resistant to schooling. Schools themselves were synonymous with sacrilegious propaganda. (28)

It was not, however, merely Amanullah or even Soviet communism to blame for politicising education. Across the Durand Line, Afghan children in Pakistan were raised on a curricular diet of US-produced textbooks extolling the virtues of jihad. It was a square that the US, in its later occupation of Afghanistan, never succeeded in circling.

The US occupation – feeding the cycle

The occupation of Afghanistan was part of the wider War on Terror’s strategic goals. Foremost amongst these was cultivating a globally neutered Islam that would, at least, not challenge American foreign policy interests. In 2004, political scientist Cheryl Bernard wrote a policy paper for the Rand Corporation on promoting what she termed ‘Civil Democratic Islam.’

Dividing Muslims into categories, Bernard suggested promoting Sufism as a pacifist variant of Islam (29). The US, she advised, should ally with ‘traditionalists’ against its principal adversary: ‘fundamentalists.’ This was a catch-all term that included the Taliban, who were ‘radical fundamentalists.’ That was not, however, a token of Bernard’s approval for traditionalists; they remained ‘leery of women’s social and economic integration’ and ‘wary of modern, secular education.’ (30) In turn, to break the traditionalist monopoly on religious scholarship, Bernard proposed supporting ‘modernists.’. This could be done through various avenues; ‘modernist scholars’ could be encouraged ‘to write textbooks and develop curricula’ (31) as well as incorporating modernist ‘views into the curriculum of Islamic education.’ (32) Bernard’s emphasis on curricula was prolific; curricula could also ‘facilitate and encourage an awareness of pre and non-Islamic history and culture.’ (33)

In the same year as Bernard’s recommendations, President Bush delivered his 2004 State of the Union (34). Afghanistan, he announced, had been a success. It had just promulgated a new, democratic constitution. ‘The boys and girls of Afghanistan are back in school,’ Bush boasted. ‘Aggressive raids against the surviving members of the Taliban’ were ongoing, and ‘men and women are building a nation that is free and proud and fighting terror.’ By ‘terror’, the reference to the Taliban was obvious. Similar statements by Western statesmen and their Afghan clients littered the two decades of American occupation. The shared aim was appealing to a Western audience by legitimising and maintaining public support for spending billions on an occupation and the insatiable appetite for foreign dollars amongst the installed Afghan elite. Glad tidings were forthcoming; a new generation of young, ‘educated’ Afghans, it was promised, would turn the page on a chapter arbitrarily defined as one of religious extremism.

Education and women’s rights were thus the legitimising and reinforcing pillars for the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. Blissfully unaware or supremely indifferent, the statements, whether Bush’s or Bernard’s, only vindicated the suspicion that education was a Trojan horse for Westernisation. Repeatedly presenting education as an integral ingredient of the War on Terror achieved the net result of repeatedly vindicating Haqqani; education was aimed at castrating Islam whilst fostering an understanding of women’s rights that clashed with women’s domestic role that he believed divinely ordained. Modern schools were ultimately barriers between Islam and Muslims; barriers intended specifically to ‘deviate [Muslims] from the religion of God.’ The Taliban’s hawks, with education and women constantly weaponised against them, were listening.

Scepticism toward state schools thus persisted during the American occupation. The increasingly common slurs of the occupation’s dying years only pointed toward enduring resentment toward Western education. ‘Tommy’ referred derisively to many young, Western educated, suit wearing and English fluent Afghans serving in government or NGOs; they were so distant that they were given a fitting Western name to boot. ‘Fulbrighter’ mocked those who benefited from the famous US scholarship. Both terms, according to their users, referred to Afghans who, by virtue of their Western education, had lost the Afghanness of which Islam was the key constituent. ‘A mujahid will graduate from a madrassa,’ Amir Hebatullah reportedly said. Referring to former President Karzai, he added ‘[but] a Karzai will graduate from a school.’ (35)

Modest gains, however, were made. A national curriculum in attempted adherence to Islamic tenets was codified. Access to schools widened across the country, especially in urban areas. Particularly in war-stricken rural areas, though, Dr. Faizi highlights community-based schools filled the void. These enjoyed greater local trust and were often staffed by locals who worked as teachers. This was whilst distrust toward state-schools persisted. ‘For many,’ Dr. Faizi told me, ‘public schools continued to represent state indoctrination efforts.’

I encountered an example of this in Zharey, Qandahar. The district’s only girls’ school lay in ruins. Locals, especially Taliban, keenly told me how the school was used as a regime military outpost in the Republic’s dying years. The scars of military use were apparent. The school’s outer perimeter was delineated by now crumbled walls. Beneath the walls’ rubble, amidst tattered pieces of paper, were sandbags held in wired metal containers. The school in Zharey did not represent state indoctrination efforts; it synonymised indoctrination with military machinery.

Far from the polished answers given by Kabul spokesmen, it was in Zharey that schooling’s equivocation with anti-Islamic influence became apparent. A former Talib turned lavender farmer insisted to me on having no objection to girls, including his daughter, attending school. As long as, he added, this did not clash with the Sharia. He didn’t elaborate on how and why schooling could conflict with the Sharia. He did, however, refer to the international outcry caused by the school closures. ‘This issue [girls’ schools],’ he contended, ‘is being used to undermine Islam.’ He was not alone; the antipathy toward education was present at the highest Taliban echelons. Held by what is widely reported to be a minority, that minority is influential enough to again bring the country to a standstill.

The first and second Taliban Emirates have both featured restrictions on modern, especially girls’ schooling. Afghanistan has seemingly come full circle, when modern schooling was first banned by Kalakani in 1929. Haqqani’s attitude toward schooling, though, is not one of blanket hostility. Modern education, he concedes, was a necessity; it undoubtedly provided benefits that were worldly, or, as Haqqani puts it ‘material [and] finite.’ These benefits went beyond waging war in defence of Islam; Haqqani accepts that society’s wellbeing was dependent on the study of subjects such as agriculture, chemistry, amongst others. ‘We do not,’ he attempts to clarify, ‘deny the importance of modern education.’

In 2022, even the Taliban can no longer deny, at least in words, the importance of modern education. Progress, albeit slow, has been made in the Afghan paradigm. Whether that progress is sufficient is a separate discussion; one that must highlight Afghanistan never being permitted the luxury of evolving and solving its differences on its own terms. Indigenous evolution was precluded by the cross-temporal alliance of Amanullah, the ideologues he inspired, and the thousands of foreign soldiers who installed them. Destiny did not afford Kalakani the luxury of time, but it certainly did to the Taliban.

Yet it remains important to couch Haqqani’s admission, perhaps cause for some relief, within his broader stance. ‘A Muslim,’ through service to Islam, ‘will use modern education for this life [as well as] the Hereafter.’ This is in contrast to the kafir [infidel]; bereft of salvation in the Hereafter, he would find utility in modern education ‘only for this life.’ It was only logical, therefore, for an Islamic government to abandon taqleed (blind imitation) of the West in its secular-religious distinction: the real cause for the Islamic world’s decline. ‘It is important for an Islamic government,’ Haqqani elucidates, ‘to not abandon secular education, but incorporate it within a broader religious education.’

The Way Forth

Daunting tasks confronted the Taliban after their takeover: governing a wartorn country, distributing the proverbial spoils of war between tens of thousands of hardened fighters, the clashing interests of their base, the country’s diverse blocs, and the wider world. All, to differing degrees, are disillusioned. The general amnesty extended to previous regime personnel coincided with limited but greater maturity in governance, an emphasis on diplomacy and decreased enforcement of religious propriety. The implementation of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue’s edicts, or ‘advice’, with the inexorable focus on women, is lacklustre. A softer touch overall, but a government whose contradictions, unpredictability and volatility point toward intra-party friction and woeful incompetence.

The increasing assertiveness of Qandahar’s hawks was signalled by the Ministry of Vice and Virtue’s escalating ‘advice’ following March’s closure. With Amir Hebatullah at the helm, the impulse, it appeared, was to stamp central authority over a hitherto decentralised insurgency. In August 2021, I told Al Jazeera that whilst circumstances differed, the Taliban’s ‘theoretical interpretation of the Sharia would remain by and large the same as the 90’s.’ (36) That unchanged interpretation and Qandahar’s increasing assertiveness appeared in reimplementing ta’zir (discretionary) penalties, including stoning, flogging and amputations for specific crimes. Those penalties, though, are neither unique to the Taliban or even Afghanistan, and are unlikely to provoke opposition within either.

That is not true for education. Stinging criticism was forthcoming almost immediately following the school closure, including from analysts otherwise in favour of the Taliban. Yesterday’s ban on universities only exacerbated anger. Education policy seems a unique area whose criticism does not warrant repression, even amidst calculated suppression of criticism elsewhere. Indeed, it’s difficult to see how dissent could be stifled when voiced increasingly publicly by Taliban figures themselves. Minister of Interior, Sirajuddin Haqqani, repeatedly and publicly promised the reopening of schools, upping the ante and indirectly challenging the closure’s advocates. At one point, Zabihullah Mujahid, after intense questioning, bluntly answered that the ban was not his decision. Had it been, the closure would have never happened.

‘[Modern] education is obligatory on men and women,’ Deputy Foreign Minister Affairs Stanakzai recent declared. His cabinet colleague, the Minister of Vice and Virtue, subtly challenged him; education was, he highlighted, indeed permissible. The implication was clear; being permissible meant it was not obligatory. Obligatory, he added, was obedience to the Amir: authorised to suspend even the permissible. (37)

Juxtaposed with rosy promises once made in Doha, Taliban policy in Kabul has attracted accusations of barefaced and stunning duplicity at home and internationally. Ranging from fatawa from Herati religious seminaries to tribal petitions from Paktika, domestic pressure on the school ban has been unrelenting. With the ban extended to universities, still under formation is a quickly swelling avalanche of international condemnation, punitive measures and further domestic outrage. Deepened intra-Taliban fissures are inevitable; only their extent is to be determined.

Solutions, however, lie at home. That is especially pertinent for yesterday’s Afghan politicians, whose maturation was possible only by an occupation fattening them on foreign dollars. Attempting a resurgence by leveraging loathing for the ban, their decades-old impulse to internationalise domestic standoffs is no longer feasible, assuming it ever were. Problems rooted in or exacerbated by foreign involvement cannot be remedied by more foreign involvement. Decades of politicising education would have provided the necessary panacea were it the case.

Internationalising Afghan standoffs ensure two things. The discussion grows in remoteness to Afghanistan and domestic initiatives fall liable to the charge of being foreign backed, and thus sullied. A discussion on a gendered ban cannot and will not be solved by countries internally divided on what constitutes biological gender, or if such a thing even exists.

Reorienting the discussion to centre around Afghan sensitivities, however, can leverage existing pressure across the Afghan political spectrum, including Taliban dissenters. Pressure that could, from within, be brought to bear against those blinded by hubris, ideology and paranoia; and dooming Afghanistan to domestic divisions and international isolation alike.

It is not the participation of girls in either schools or university to which Haqqani is opposed; his antipathy is toward the fundamental idea of the school and university itself. When or if either of these will reopen for girls is uncertain. That vagueness, per his wider epistemological critique of secular education, applies equally to the possibility of closures for boys. Assuming such a thing ever came to fruition, the practical form of a Haqqani-approved curriculum that turns the clock back on modernity is woefully unspecified.

One question, above all, is whether Afghanistan or even the Taliban can afford being held hostage to philosophically abstract critiques of modernity. An economic crisis and chronic shortage of resources would make operating the previous education system challenging enough. Creating a functional system that, in essence, replaces the university with the madrassa, is another task altogether.

One thing is certain: whether education or governance more broadly, questions on the Taliban will not stop.

https://afghaneye.org/2022/12/21/afg...rls-education/
Reply

سيف الله
01-06-2023, 12:39 AM
Salaam

More discussion.

Blurb

In 2023's first episode, Sangar interviews Ahmed-Waleed on his recent article analysing the history and legacy of politicised education in Afghanistan. Amidst increasing Taliban restrictions on Afghan women's right to work and an expanded ban on female secondary and university education, the duo predict the directions that could be taken by Afghanistan under the Taliban government.

Reply

Karl
01-09-2023, 12:42 AM
Regardless of the argument of whether female education is halal or haram in Islam, the fact remains that the American Zionist and globalist occupiers in Afghanistan shoved liberal tyranny and "female empowerment" down Afghans' throats. Therefore any self-respecting Afghan should reject "female empowerment" including "education", even if simply out of defiance, spite and revenge. And by extension they should reject every single bit of inculcation and social engineering the malicious American occupiers foisted on them! So if it's ANY principle or "moral instruction" the Americans and British "educated" the Afghans into adopting, the new and free Afghans should simply UNDO it -- ALL of it! And if Afghans aren't stupid they should while they're at it ALSO expel every single Western "NGO" from Afghanistan immediately! There is no such thing as a "benign" Western entity, especially one that wants to impose itself on a non Western country. You know that when they are doing that they are therefore up to no good. They are all nefarious cultural Marxists, spies, trouble makers and tools of the Jewish Totalitarian World Order even though they might often mawkishly deny it by saying "No, that's not right, we are only here to do good. We are so benevolent, that's why we care so much about you". It's a TOTAL LIE. The infiltrating scoundrels are nothing more than wolves in sheeps clothing, they are agents of Western governments and they are only there to poison minds with their toxic ideology, and that's why they need to be driven out IMMEDIATELY

Actually, "female empowerment" was regarded by Marx as absolutely vital for the communist cause, and that is why feminism remains a key cornerstone of Marxist ideology to this day. And I can't help but assume that when the Americans invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the Afghans must have thought "Wow, isn't it strange that the USA and Soviet Union are belligerent towards each other, primarily because the Soviet Union is communist and that America is purportedly anti communist, yet the Americans have embraced SO MANY ideas of Marx!! This includes FEMINISM. On so many levels the Soviets and Americans THINK IDENTICAL!"

I fully understand why many Afghans would be fiercely opposed to female education and employment, as even myself as a Westerner am completely opposed to it too. I won't tolerate any feminist nonsense in my household and I don't believe in giving my daughters a formal Western education. The only kind of science I want for my daughters is to learn domestic science so that they know how to look after their future households and to tend to the needs of their husbands and offspring. Neglect of the household translates into the household going into rack and ruin and therefore evident of a neglectful and irresponsible wife!
Reply

سيف الله
02-08-2023, 01:26 AM
Salaam

Like to share.



New Lives in the City: How Taleban have experienced life in Kabul

A large number of Taleban fighters have moved to Afghanistan’s cities since the movement’s capture of power, many of them seeing life in the city for the first time in their lifetime. These fighters, many of whom are from villages, had lived modest lives, entirely focused on the war. Their circumstances have changed entirely since the Taleban’s victory. Guest author Sabawoon Samim has interviewed five members of the Taleban who have come to live in Kabul, a city they had seen as being at the heart of the ‘foreign occupation’ with its ‘puppet government’ and a population degraded by Western ways. How have they found the actual Kabul and its people, and what do they think about having to earn a living for the first time, keep office hours and live in a city full of traffic and millions of other inhabitants?

In the aftermath of seizing power in Afghanistan in August 2021, a huge number of Taleban foot soldiers rushed to the country’s capital, Kabul. For many, born into rural families and with their adult lives spent primarily on the battlefield, it was the first time they had come to the capital. They had not even been born or were still children when the Taleban’s first emirate fell. Even their seniors, who had experienced life in a major city like Kabul, would find the Afghan capital of 2021 a very different place to when the Taleban had last ruled there – the ruins left by the civil war had long ago been re-built, the city itself had become vastly bigger and the population increased manifold. Some of those newcomers to Kabul have settled in the city and we wanted to find out how they had experienced this sudden shift and what they thought of Kabul – and Kabulis.

To this end, the author conducted in-depth conversations with five members of the movement about their new, post-takeover life. They ranged in age from 24 to 32 and had spent between six and 11 years in the Taleban, at different ranks: a Taleban commander, a sniper, a deputy commander and two fighters. They were, respectively, from Paktika, Paktia, Wardak, Logar and Kandahar provinces.

All the interviewees had spent their formative years within the Taleban, typically joining as teenagers. Following the fall of the Islamic Republic, they had secured jobs in the new government. Two were appointed to civilian roles, the other three to security jobs, one in the Ministry of Interior and two in the armed forces. All are now living in Kabul, without their families, and only return to their home provinces during vacations. Four out of the five interviews were conducted in October 2022 and the last in November, all face-to-face in Kabul. The interviews have been lightly edited for clarity and flow.

The interviewees refer to ‘the fatha’, pronounced fat-ha. This is the Arabic word for conquest or victory, used for when new lands are ‘opened up’ to Muslim victors, or lands ‘recovered’ from non-Muslims. The interviews also refer to the war as a jihad and themselves as mujahedin. They speak of going on ‘tashkils’, which are similar to deployments – specific periods of time when they were away fighting.

In the Taleban hierarchy, fighters were organised into ‘groups’, bands of a few dozen men under a sub-commander, known as a ‘sar-group’ (head of the group). Several groups formed a ‘dilgai’, headed by a senior commander, known as a ‘dilgai meshr’. He was directly associated with the Emirate’s Military Commission.

Throughout the text, the interviewees refer to their old commanders as ‘Mawlawi Sahib’, as a mark of respect, combining the term used for an advanced religious scholar with the word for ‘sir’.


Omar Mansur, 32, Yahyakhel district of Paktika province, married and father of five, head of a group

I was born in North Waziristan but spent my childhood in Yahyakhel. I started my education in the village mosque and then moved to a small madrasa that was built during the first emirate in the neighbouring district. At the time the Americans invaded, I was only 11 years old. Because of that invasion and the subsequent indiscriminate bombardments and night raids, I was determined that the jihad against the foreigners[1] was fard [obligatory in Islam]. I had only studied up to wara dawra [12th grade of madrasa] when I abandoned the rest of my madrasa studies, and for the next 14 years or so, I would go on tashkil.

The jihad was already in full swing in our district at the time. I did my first three tashkils in Yahyakhel and then relocated to Kunar province. The rest of my jihad was in various provinces, including Laghman, Nangarhar, Paktia, Paktika and Ghazni. I first became a deputy of our group in Mawlawi Sahib’s dilgai and then its commander.

Praise be to Allah, after the fatha, Mawlawi Sahib introduced me to the Minister of [name withheld] and told him to appoint me somewhere. I was appointed to a grade 3 position as head of office.[2]
I haven’t brought my family to Kabul. The rent of houses is very high for us since our salary is no more than 15,000 afghanis [roughly 180 USD]. It is fully sufficient for Yahyakhel but not for Kabul. As soon as, God willing, I have a good salary, I will bring my family here.

I had never been to Kabul before. We heard from the radio and people who travelled there that it was constructed very beautifully by the Americans and [Hamid] Karzai. But still, you know, it’s not as beautiful as it should have been. The Americans brought untold amounts of money, but rather than spending it on building the city to a higher standard,[3] most of it went into the pockets of [Marshal Qasem] Fahim [the late vice president and Shura-ye Nizar/Northern Alliance military leader], Karzai, and their like. Yet, I assume, it’s the most gorgeous city in Afghanistan. In contrast to Kabul, our Paktika seems very displeasing. It’s like the Karzai government only spent money on Kabul.

What I don’t like about Kabul is its ever-increasing traffic holdups. Last year, it was tolerable but in the last few months, it’s become more and more congested. People complain that the Taleban brought poverty, but, looking at this traffic and the large number of people in the bazaars and restaurants, I wonder where that poverty is.

Another thing I don’t like, not only about Kabul but broadly about life after the fatha, are the new restrictions. In the group, we had a great degree of freedom about where to go, where to stay, and whether to participate in the war.

However, these days, you have to go to the office before 8 AM and stay there till 4 PM. If you don’t go, you’re considered absent, and [the wage for] that day is cut from your salary. We’re now used to that, but it was especially difficult in the first two or three months.

The other problem in Kabul is that my comrades are now scattered throughout Afghanistan. Those in Kabul, like me, work from 8 AM to 4 PM. So, most of the week, we don’t get any time to meet each other. Only on Fridays, if I don’t go home, do we all go to Qargha, Paghman or Zazai Park. I really like Paghman and going there with friends makes me very happy. Such a place doesn’t exist in the entire province of Paktika.

What I like most in Kabul is its relative cleanness and how facilities have been modernised and improved, the buildings, roads, electricity, internet connection, and so many other things. You can find taxis even at midnight, hospitals are on the doorstep, and schools, educational centres, as well as madrasas are all easily available on every corner of the city. The other positive feature of Kabul is its ethnic diversity. You can see an Uzbek, Pashtun and a Tajik living in one building and going to the same mosque.

Some people have a very negative picture of Kabul. What I experienced here in the last years, though, is that one can come across the perfect Muslim and the worst. Unlike villages where a lot of people go to the mosque to impress others, people in Kabul go there just for the sake of Allah. Unlike the villages where people endeavour to be called generous, people here do charity for the sake of Allah – people know little about each other and so they don’t need to impress each other.

Similarly, there are plenty of bad and wicked people. They’re morally corrupt, Muslim only in name, sinners. I can’t make up my mind whether there are more good people or bad here, though there are both, and it’s up to you who you interact with. Living in Kabul could have either consequence; it could corrupt a very good mujahed or turn a very bad mujahed into a good man. It all depends on who you socialise with.

Huzaifa, 24, from Zurmat district of southeastern Paktia province, married and father of two, sniper

I grew up in Zurmat. I was around 13 years old when my father enrolled me in a nearby madrasa. I left it without finishing my studies after five years because a friend of mine convinced me to join him in the Taleban. My family tried their best to persuade, at first me to leave the Emirate, and then our commander to expel me from his ranks. They said if I came home, they’d get me engaged to someone. But once someone spends time in the group, leaving that friendly and endearing environment is difficult. There was love, sincerity and above all the thirst for martyrdom. Worldly pursuits were not even a minor part of life at that time. All we were doing was sacrificing in the way of jihad as hard as we could.

I was a lizari [sniper] and spent most of my time in Paktia, only on some occasions going to Khost and Paktika provinces. In the time of jihad, life was very simple. All we had to deal with was making plans for ta’aruz [attacks] against the enemy and for retreating. People didn’t expect much from us, and we had little responsibility towards them, whereas now if someone is hungry, he deems us directly responsible for that.

After the fatha, we moved to Kabul and our dilgai meshr was appointed head of a police district and later head of a directorate at the Ministry of Interior. I, along with a few other friends, were given masuliat (official jobs) in the police district the day we arrived in the city, while other friends were sent to the MoI.

It was the first time I ever saw Kabul. I haven’t seen all the provinces, but people say Kabul is the most beautiful city in Afghanistan. When I joined my group, I was of the idea that Kabul would be full of bad people, but to be honest, in the last couple of years, after we met some of the people living here, I realised I was wrong. Of course, it has plenty of negative aspects, like their support for the occupation, women not wearing proper clothing, youths flirting with girls and cutting their hair in a style even people in America might not adopt, but these are the problems that nowadays exist also in the rural areas.

After we arrived in Kabul, we were stunned by its complexity, its expanse, its size. We didn’t know where to go. Everything was strange to us and of course, we were strange to the local people – to the extent that they were afraid of talking loudly to us. When we came to our hawza [police district] and saw the compound, the weapons and the security measures, it was unbelievable how they’d abandoned such places without firing a single bullet. We were stunned by the cowardice of the [former] army and police. If even a very small number of them had tried to fight us, we couldn’t have made it to Kabul for years, given its complexity and the weapons they had. Praise be to Allah, [the victory] was directly because of His help.

One thing I don’t like about Kabul is that people have moved here from all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces and among them, a large number of criminals from across Afghanistan have made their way here and turned the city into a hub for their illegal activities. We face a lot of difficulties in eliminating crime, particularly robbery.

And the savageness of people against each other, in particular against women – dozens of women approach the hawza on a daily basis and register their complaints. They’re victims, subject to different forms of brutality. The head of the hawza and all other mujahedin pay special attention to solving their problems. During the first days when women approached us, many mujahedin, including myself, were hiding from them because never in our whole lives have we talked to strange women. In the days that followed, the head of the hawza instructed us that sharia does allow us to talk to them because we are now the authorities and the only people that can solve their problems.

I prefer to live in Kabul. It has its good sides and its bad, in fact, not only Kabul but everywhere has positive and negative features. In Kabul, what’s good is that you have access to every facility. Most importantly, our jobs are here now, and it’s necessary to move our families here as well.

What I don’t like about the city is that it’s like a closed society. People live cheek-by-jowl but don’t interact with each other. This is in part bad, as people don’t cooperate with each other, but also has a positive feature: unlike the village, no one bothers you about what you do, what you wear, who comes to your home and who leaves it. People don’t interfere in your life and don’t talk about you behind your back.

There is another thing I dislike and that’s how restricted our lives are now, unlike anything we experienced before. The Taleban used to be free of restrictions, but now we sit in one place, behind a desk and a computer 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Life’s become so wearisome; you do the same things every day. Being away from the family has only doubled the problem.

I’ve made friends with three guys who are from our province but have been living here [in Kabul] for more than 15 years. We sometimes go to Qargha, Bagh-e Wahsh [Kabul Zoo], Sarobi and Tapa-ye Wazir Akbar Khan. To be honest, every time I go with them, they pressure me to play and listen to music in the car. At first, I was resisting, but now I have given in, with the one condition that they turn it off when passing through security checkpoints because many other Taleban don’t like it, and it’s bad for a Taleb to be seen listening to it.

Although my new friends are from good families and are good lads, there are a lot of bad circles of youths in Kabul who smoke, use drugs and do bad things, so it’s hard for us to become friends with them. Our nature and values differ, and therefore most of our friends don’t make many friends in Kabul because we don’t fit in with them. Despite this, some Taleban have now become friends with such youths and are inclined to do many bad things, such as going hookah cafes [qilun khana].

Kamran, 27, Sayedabad district, Wardak Province, married, father of two, deputy group commander

I graduated from a government school in Sayedabad and then abandoned any other studies for the sake of jihad at the age of 19. This has been my 8th year in the Emirate. Most of the time, the areas our group controlled were in the various districts of Wardak province. I participated in many battles. Sayedabad was a place in which the Americans left dozens of dead bodies. The intensity of Sayedabad battles is well-known throughout Afghanistan.

In the last three years, I was deputy to the commander of our group, responsible for most of the day-to-day activities we dealt with since the head of our group was busy doing other non-military stuff.

During the jihad, the fear of drones followed us like a shadow, and the area where we operated was geographically very small in the early years. When travelling along the road to Ghazni city, we frequently attacked the Americans with RPGs, dashakas [DShK, a type of heavy machine gun] and roadside bombs, inflicting dozens of casualties on them. They then came after us in retaliation. Their drones often bombarded our positions. Everywhere we went, went the fear of drones. Even though the situation changed in the last two or three years [of the fighting] – the Americans and government army [owrdu] completely disappeared from the scene – the danger of drones still affected our movement. In fact, excluding their bombardments, we never considered the Americans and their puppets superior to us, [certainly not] in face-to-face battles.

Circumstances have now, Praise be to Allah, changed completely. We can go wherever we want. There is freedom and liberty in the entire country.

I’d been twice to Kabul before the fatha, once for treatment to a doctor in Baharistan [a neighbourhood in Kabul’s PD2].[4] Both times, I was in fear of being arrested. At that time, Kabul was occupied, and the police were harassing men if they had a beard. During one of my visits, I was going from the Kampani area to Kot-e Sangi, and our bus was passing through a checkpoint near the Kampani bazaar. When they saw me, they immediately stopped the bus and started asking me questions. I was about to be captured but, Praise be to Allah, I deceived them. From that day, I started hating Kabul. However, you see, I’m now here in Kabul, but it is not the same Kabul I visited before. It’s now liberated and belongs to us, not the Americans.

I was appointed to a job in the Ministry of Interior. I’m sort of happy with my job but often miss the time of jihad. During that time, every minute of our life was counted as worship.

After the fatha, many of our friends abandoned the cause of jihad. Many others betrayed the blood of the martyrs on which foundation this nizam [the government] is built. Nowadays, people are fully busy gaining wealth and fame, more and more, in this worldly life. Previously, we were doing everything for the sake of Allah, but now it’s the opposite. The first priority of many is to fill their pockets and become famous.

If you ask me why I’m unhappy in the aftermath of the fatha, it’s that we immediately forgot our past. Then, we had only a motorcycle, a mukhabira, [a type of Walkie-Talkie] and a mosque or madrasa. Now, when someone’s nominated for a government job, he first asks whether that position has a car or not.[5] We used to live among the people. Many of us have now caged ourselves in our offices and palaces, abandoning that simple life.

I don’t interact with Kabulis much, given that here, the ministry is full of my fellow Taleban. Anyway, sometimes I sit with the employees of the former regime who still come to their jobs. They show themselves to be very good people and sincere to the Emirate, but I can tell you that, in reality, they hate us. I don’t exactly know why, but I’ve identified some possible reasons this past year. First, these employees were ‘doing business’ in the ministry, making illegal wealth through corrupt practices. Second, the Americans invested in them heavily, and they became so Westernised they now hate our real Afghan culture and Islam. When the Emirate came, their illegal business and corruption vanished entirely and they have nothing but their salaries. They are no longer able to make millions of afghanis. So, you tell me, why shouldn’t they hate us?

I’m very concerned about our mujahedin. The real test and challenge was not during the jihad. Rather, it’s now. At that time, it was simple, but now things are much more complicated. We are tested by cars, positions, wealth and women. Many of our mujahedin, God forbid, have fallen into these seemingly sweet, but actually bitter traps. They forgot their old comrades on whose shoulders they secured victory and instead seek the praise and approval of sycophants. The old, the real mujahed doesn’t know the meaning of sycophancy. So they are sidelined, while their places are filled by people who, until the past year, were against us in so many ways.

I’ve not considered living in Kabul [permanently with the family]. Of course, it’s beautiful from the outside, but it lacks tranquillity. In the village, people are with you in good times and bad, in life and death.[6] You have a community. You sit together with people, talk over problems and cooperate with them. In Kabul, it’s the opposite. People don’t have time to even give you directions, let alone help you, for example, with a wedding ceremony. People are hurrying and running after this worldly life. They feel like, if one day they don’t go to work, they would die of poverty. For me at least, I belong to the village, and I can hardly imagine surviving without it.

Rest here

https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org...life-in-kabul/
Reply

سيف الله
06-09-2023, 07:56 PM
Salaam

Like to share.

Blurb

For twenty years the United States fought an un winnable and ultimately a self-defeating war in Afghanistan – only to withdraw in a humiliating way in 2021. The conflict ended what many saw to be a colonial enterprise. We explore that war, where it leaves Afghanistan, the geopolitics of the region, Afghanistans relationship with Pakistan and the role of the Taliban. Many see the austere Islamic group as classic freedom fighters, defeating the worlds strongest and only superpower. But have they ultimately disappointed many in their time in government.? The country suffers from poverty and near famine. Who is to blame for this terrible situation.

Ahmed-Waleed Kakar is no stranger to the country. Of Afghan descent, he is an analyst specialising in Afghan political history and the founder and editor in chief of The Afghan Eye @Afghan EYE : an independent media platform offering English language analysis of Afghan affairs.


Reply

سيف الله
07-15-2023, 06:55 PM
Salaam

Another update. Brother Moazzam returns to Afghanistan.









Images from my return trip to #Bagram #Afganistan

I’m describing how prisoners were hooded and their hands shackled above their heads to the cage door and punched and kicked.

I’m explaining how an Afghan taxi driver by the name of Dilawar was beaten to death after being tied up like this for days and that image has been engraved in my head ever since.

I’m explaining how US soldiers would throw Qurans over cell doors when prisoners asked for them or drop kick the book like a football. When we first arrived soldiers ripped the Quran into pieces and threw them into buckets of excrement.

An American Egyptian interrogator told the US soldiers not to allow us to call the athan, recite the Quran or pray in congregation because that allowed to communicate with one another. If anyone did, they’d be tied up - just like Dilawar.

We had two small bottles of water per day. If we used them to wash or make wudhu we’d have nothing to drink. So most made tayammum. I did so for a year and forgot the correct sequence of wudhu by the time I arrived in #Guantanamo.

Despite this, I’m also telling them how I managed to memorise Surah Al-Baqarah - the largest chapter of the Quran - in this very spot.

Im explaining how they’d built tiny one square metre isolation cells and kept us there for days on end during interrogation periods.

I’m telling them about the screams of the woman I used to hear I thought was my wife; and how news of the birth of my son reached me here.

Im retelling them how I saw all of this in a vivid dreamI had 8 years before I came to Bagram.

I’m describing how British intelligence agents - who’d questioned me in UK several years before - came here many times and interrogated me while prisoners were screaming and tortured to death.

Other than Guantanamo, I lived in this place away from home longer than anywhere else, so I knew it very well.

This place is now abandoned and very dark - both physically and metaphorically.

Returning here was an indescribable experience. I couldn’t help but to breakdown when recounting my thoughts and memories.

It’s no longer a torture facility but I did ask that IEA preserve some part of the place so that it’s never forgotten. They said they intend to do so but also they’d like to make it into a centre of learning, where young people can study for the future without forgetting the darkness of the past.

*Deepest gratitude to #Afghan former Bagram and #Gitmo prisoners, families and very helpful #IEA officials for helping to make this happen. Images courtesy of
@ShnizaiM

The film should be out in a few months
@AJEnglish
#Witness in sha Allah.

May Allah accept the efforts and sacrifices of all involved.

الحمد لله حمدا كثيرا طيبًا مباركا

AS they say a weeks a long time in politics. Watch the new narrative form.



Comment.







And of course.



Hard reality

Reply

سيف الله
07-19-2023, 10:15 PM
Salaam

Oh dear he caved fast.



Comment.







Reply

سيف الله
12-08-2023, 12:59 PM
Salaam

Another update.

Blurb

More than 370,000 Afghans have fled Pakistan after the government there announced a crackdown on undocumented refugees. What’s going on? And what do deteriorating relations between Pakistan’s government and the Taliban government in Afghanistan have to do with it? #AJStartHere with Sandra Gathmann explains.


Chapters

00:52 - Why are there many Afghan refugees in Pakistan?
01:15 - The difference between documented and undocumented refugees.
01:38 - What’s behind the Pakistani government’s policy?
02:37 - Why are Pakistani officials linking Afghan refugees to security?
02:59 - Who are the Pakistani Taliban? (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, TTP)
04:44 - Why the TTP issue is straining relations between Pakistan’s government and the Taliban government in Afghanistan.
05:42 - How is the TTP issue linked to Pakistan’s refugee crackdown?
06:03 - Who is among Pakistan’s undocumented refugees?
07:34 - How the deportation policy caused shock and panic among Afghans in Pakistan.
08:17 - How Afghans have been threatened and harassed by Pakistani officials.
09:43 - What happens once the refugees cross into Afghanistan?


Reply

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