What do Mos Eisley Spaceport on planet Tattoine and Kabul, Afghanistan have in common? The phrase “most wretched hive of scum and villainry” applies to both, almost equally. There is no strong, central government made up of Afghans united under one banner. As a country, it has a particularly bloody and brutal history. The population consists of an eclectic mix of ethnicities due to its borders with Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. The government of Afghanistan had been a Monarchy until 1973. The various kings frequently had to quell tribal uprisings, and bloody feuds would go on for decades.
The Soviet Union invaded in 1978 which led to Communist rule for over a decade. The brand of communism ushered in corruption and adversity for the Afghan people. The Mujahideen were the so-called Afghan forces attempting to fight back the Soviet tide. Then Pakistan came to the aid of the Afghan troops and the Islamic Rebellion went on from 1992 to 1996. Finally, youth-driven Taliban movement drove the final soviet soldier out of the country and began its own reign of terror as leaders sought to purify Afghan society and force its own fundamentalist Islamic extremist philosophy on every citizen.
Afghanistan Tribal Leaders Map - as of 2004
People at first cheered the Taliban because they chased out the Soviet invaders. But soon they discovered that the Taliban represented a different kind of leadership of fear. With the Taliban in power, Usama bin Laden was free to operate his global terror network, al-Qaida, with no opposition. Many Afghans were forced to flee, not knowing when, if ever, they would return. Then, September 11, 2001, two planes flew a fated flight into the World Trade Center in New York City. Suddenly, Afghanistan had caught the attention of the most powerful nation in the world. So what did America do? The only thing it knew how to do – it placed a giant bullseye on a country still reeling from nearly a century of civil strife.
It took America less than 3 months to drive the Taliban out of power. In its place, an interim government was formed with Hamid Karzai elected President in 2004. Karzai is a Pashtun from Kandahar province (close to the Pakistan border), who was part of the Mujahideen trying to dispel the communists from his homeland. Now, 2 million Afghan deaths later, the country is still trying to “find itself”. The sad part is that too many of its neighbors want to stir up trouble, or stand to gain with a weak Afghanistan. America is playing right into the hands of those who have their own agendas, not necessarily what is best for the Afghan people.
In the wake of the Taliban rise to power, several factions in the north and west formed a fragile alliance with one common objective: do not let the Taliban win. How much of this was accomplished with American (even Russian) support is unclear. But this group of leaders shares very little in common, and has demonstrated itself to be rather weak in tactics and resolve. Still, perhaps allowing them the opportunity to rise to the occasion would be prudent. But with larger neighbors fronting opposition forces, the road indeed is dangerous for Afghan citizens to travel, as their quest for self-determination receives interference from all sides. Each with their own agendas, China, Pakistan, Iran and Russia cannot agree on “what is best” for their fledgling little brother Afghanistan. So they attempt to tip the balance in favor of one side or another, using the power of money and influence to shape events. In the meantime, the Afghan people are tired of being other peoples’ play toy.
Instead of backing out slowly and quietly, we are driving ourselves in even deeper into affairs that ought to be none of our concern. Making deals with Taliban leaders may help soothe fragile US-Pakistan relations, but it does little to help the Afghan people. Our current policy in that country is one of pure self-interest. The divided public doesn’t want the Taliban to return to power, but there are others who seek power who are just as bad (Abdul Rashid Dostum of the north-central region, for example). The two opposing groups (one hesitates to call them political parties) are no closer to any kind of civil discourse. As long as Afghans fight Afghans and suicide bombers attack civilians, there will not be peace.
