The validity of the metricious justification for expanding the war on the hobgoblin of terrorism in Afghanistan is easily dispelled by recognizing that the real enemy of the US-led NATO forces is the people of Afghanistan. The Taliban insurgency is driven by the necessity to force the NATO forces out of Afghanistan so that their country can rightfully achieve sovereignty and independence. No insurgency can survive without the support of the people who live in Afghanistan. Without their support, the Taliban would lack refuge, supplies, recruits and intelligence while, on the other hand, their hostility would result in many calls to American forces identifying the location of the insurgents. Polls have confirmed that the Afghani people support the Taliban for the moment because they have a mutual objective, to rid the country of troops who are killing thousands of innocent civilians and destabilizing the country.
It should be noted that the United States supported the Taliban’s ascendancy to power in 1996 and supported them until 2001. American officials were negotiating a deal with the Taliban to build a pipeline along the southern part of Afghanistan to carry oil from the former Soviet Republics and from the Caspian Sea. After 2001, American policy-makers recognized that attacking terrorist training camps and finding bin Laden in Afghanistan became a top priority. As part of the propaganda campaign, overnight the Taliban became evil terrorists who had to be removed from power for their treatment of women and support of terrorists. Isn’t it amazing how the U.S. could support a group in power for so many years and not recognize these salient characteristics?
To manufacture the illusion that there was already a strong movement afoot to overthrow the Taliban, the United States threw their support behind the Northern Alliance. Once the Taliban were removed from power, the U.S. installed a hand-picked American-friendly group to lead the country whose power became confined to the capital while warlords gained control over most of the country. The warlords were no better than the Taliban who had at least prohibited the growth of opium and exploited this opportunity to become the major suppliers of opium worldwide. America aligned itself with the warlords in the battle with the Taliban raising the question about the criteria used by the U.S. in selecting its allies.
It is clear that surrounding himself with supporters of the empire is reflected in Obama’s decision to deploy more troops in a war-torn country where the real problem is poverty, illiteracy, underdevelopment and instability caused by so many wars. If Obama had appointed even one progressive advisor in the area of foreign policy and security, it is possible that America would be building infrastructure, schools and hospitals rather than bombing weddings and funerals.
