After some 4 1/5 years of a US led war, the Taliban seems to be coming back. Reports are that they are now seen as the force behind attacks on Afghan and US forces, with suicide bombings as well. This is not good news, and given the state of Iraq, it makes one wonder if these nations can ever be pacified. Quite frankly, what do the Taliban offer that a secular governmnet doesn’t? Or is the heroin trade driving this? :smack:
- Did you mean for this to be in GQ?
- You cannot conclude that the Taliban is coming back based on some skirmishes in southern Afghanistan – in which incidentally, the Taliban was giving a right beating by predominantly native Afghan forces.
- The Taliban offers amongst other thing for the disposed Imams and the Taliban nutjobs a return to power.
- Much can be said of the Taliban, but while they were in power they actually did attempt to stamp out the heroin production. Of course, can be they had a change of heart – I doubt it.
Afghanistan is like playing a giant real life version of King of the Hill. Knocking down whatever passes for a central government in Afghanistan is easy; maintaining power over the tribes and clans is nigh unto impossible. Afghanistan has never had a strong central government for very long. Breaking the Taliban’s hold on the whole of Afghanistan was comparitively easy; eradicating them altogether (except by literal genocide) is harder, and harder still is trying to create any central government strong enough to endure.
If the US was smart, it would accept that right now it’s simply the most powerful single tribe in Afghanistan, and stick to exercising a “veto” over whatever faction contends for power.
Ha! In between the times they were dealing it themselves.
Opium production under the Taliban was virtually nil. It was nearly zero because individual farmers knew, if they were caught it was death “Taliban-style”. As soon as United States forces overran them they knew, if they were caught it was a burnt field and a payout to farm something “nicer” next season. Considering they can make hundreds of dollars from a field of opium and only tens of dollars for a field of anything else, the choice is obvious.
cracking the heroin production and striking down on heroin trade was actually the only good thing about the taliban when they where in power
A couple of raids, one or two well placed IEDs, and a riot do not indicate “the Taliban seems to be coming back”. These are sporadic events–and while unfortunately deadly, do not constitute a major offensive. More like little grass fires from a few insurgents–if that’s what they are. I don’t believe the paper or the press anymore (not that I ever did anyway), as they seem happy to slap “Taliban” to anyone anti-Coalition in Afghanistan.
A lot of the fighting that is still going on is just like what Lumpy said: tribes in hard-to-reach regions vying for local power. I’d compare it to gang warfare back in the 80s and 90s over “turf” . . .
Tripler
Just my $0.02 (12,354 Afghanis).
When the Taliban were in power, they not only prohibited heroin, they also trafficked in drugs. They played both sides. The muj groups trafficked too, of course. This has been called “[url=]narcoterrorism.”
Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy writes in Terrorism Monitor: “the head of Afghanistan’s Counter Narcotics Directorate estimates that the Taliban and its allies derived more than $150 million from drugs in 2003”.
And doh here’s the URL for that: http://www.pa-chouvy.org/terrorism-monitor-afghanistan-narcoterrorism.html
The Bush administration gave the Taliban forty-three million dollars to fight opium production.
I know, ain’t it great? The Taliban sold heroin and simultaneously boosted their profit by taking cash from our gov’t. Talk about true capitalism!!
By the way, one other thing the Taliban offers that a secular gov’t doesn’t is a government run according to Muslim law.
That’s the factual answer that GQ requires.
Now for my commentary that has no place here: people who want a gov’t under those conditions are extremist zealots who’ve been brainwashed into an existence with no personal rights or freedoms, and the people who run those govts are corrupt powermongers who don’t want to deal with checks and balances like the corrupt powermongers here in the US have to.