Hostile Enemies or Strategic Allies?
Many people would accuse me of being an idiot when I claim that the terrorists we see murdering innocents with impunity from Nigeria to Pakistan today were once spawned by the same country that claims to be fighting them. The World often forgets or purposely ignores the fact that it is the United States itself that has not only created but also raised and nurtured the monster we see today. In this case it is not very hard to see how the Taliban and United States can work together for their own interests and how their interests sometimes meet in many aspects. The United States is rarely blamed of supporting the Taliban or Al Qaeda; in fact the United States seems to be the only country that can blame every country for supporting militants from Sudan to Pakistan. But at least indirectly if not directly the United States remains the primary supporter of Al Qaeda's ideology from the very beginning.
Background of the Afghan Civil War & USAs role
In the 1980s the people who today we call the Taliban and Al Qaeda were funded and used by the Americans to attack the Soviets and drive them away from Afghanistan for their own gains. When the Soviets withdrew from the region and the task was over the USA stopped sending all aid to Afghanistan leaving the country war torn and destroyed after using it as a battleground. USA did absolutely nothing to stabilize the region or develop Afghanistan at par with other Nations in the World nor did it deal with the miseries of the people that started because America simply used Afghanistan for its own vested interests forming and supporting the Taliban against the Soviets and abandoning them when their task was done.
The Afghan people in turn were left at the mercy of the Taliban who slowly took control of the Nation unleashing a reign of terror on the local people. The poorer sections of Afghan society became more and more fanatical as they had no one to turn to in order to address their needs except the Taliban. The USA did nothing except giving the militants a free hand as they seized power, slowly strengthened themselves and imposed their rule on the Afghans. Under the Taliban there was only one Women's Hospital in Kabul for the entire countries female population. The militants ordered women to be locked up in their homes and treated Pakistanis and Iranians brutally. In one case they locked up Pakistani and Iranian businessmen in containers and suffocated them. Furthermore they ordered an end to all entertainment in Afghanistan, banning music and any form of leisure, confining the Afghan public to their homes. The local culture was absolutely destroyed and the entertainment industry ruined. The effects of the Talibans actions were directly felt on the already crippled economy of Afghanistan.
The Americans only woke up when their people were killed in the 9/11 attacks. Before that they were oblivious to the suffering of the Afghans. It is ironic that the 9/11 attacks could have been avoided if America had refused to interfere in Afghanistan and had not funded the terrorists of yesterday.
Unfortunately all this is very conveniently polished over by the US media when they talk about the dire strait of affairs. Instead Iranian or Pakistani support is the talk of the day. But perhaps the USA tries to hide its own failures with the ruse of claiming "Iranian or Pakistani support to the Taliban." The US denies all responsibility for the pitiful condition Afghans find themselves in.
Often the struggle for Afghanistan has been depicted in a positive light, especially in the 1980's. The movie Charlie Wilsons War even goes as far as to glorify the way Afghanistan was used as a killing field and its people massacred in Millions with Millions others fleeing the Nation as refugees. Unlike what is shown in Charlie Wilsons War only some of the money sent by USA reached National Hero Ahmed Shah Masoud or the more moderate Afghan groups involved in fighting the Soviets. Instead it was some of the worst fanatics that got the money.
The US-Taliban Relationship Today
It is unlikely that a Superpower like the USA could not predict that in the future these same people they had used as Proxies against the Soviets would be radicalized to such an extent that they would be the United States sworn enemies in the future. Keeping that in mind it is unthinkable to accept that the US government did not know it was raising a monster and creating immense hatred for USA itself amongst many Afghans who would later be great targets for terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda, all offshoots of the Afghan war. In this case it is also safe to assume that the United States knows today that they can utilize this growing hatred for themselves to fulfill their own goals in the region and increase their influence.
The Americans since the war on Terror, in fact using the War on Terror as an excuse, have begun developing military bases in countries that previously did not have them. These include Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Furthermore there are a number of questionable actions by the USA that completely support this school of thought.
Taliban Commanders linked to USA
The release of certain Taliban commanders by the US highlight the biggest questions Afghanistan and Pakistan have in the War on Terror. No sooner would these Commanders be released from prison, they would go back to Pakistan or Afghanistan and start killing innocents. It is not understandable why the United States released these Commanders, perhaps because it knew the casualties in the War on Terror would only be taken by Afghanistan and Pakistan which had been suffering from the War in the 1980's ever since it began and ended.
Abdullah Mehsud was one such commander who in the past received American support for designs against the Soviets. When USA attacked Afghanistan in 2001 using the Taliban and Al Qaeda as an excuse Abdullah Mehsud was captured and sent to Guantanamo Bay Prison. Surprisingly Mr Mehsud was released from Guantanamo Bay and the first thing he did upon his return was attack Chinese civilians in Pakistan and massacred several Pakistanis in a blast in Islamabad. Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar too was captured by the US and sent to Guantanamo but he was later released and the first thing he did was attack Afghan civilians and police officials. The list of course is longer. The one question that lies waiting to be asked in both these cases is that if both these men were such dangerous terrorists then why were they released from Gauntanamo Bay in the first place and why in both the cases they attacked Pakistani, Chinese and Afghans civilians rather than the US forces who they were bound to be angry with since their arrest. The biggest question is why were they released when it was known they would retake militant activities? Are Afghan and Pakistani lives worthless compared to American lives?
Of course there are others on the list too. One of the most shocking revelations comes from the spokesman for Tehreek E Taliban Pakistan, Muslim Khan. This terrorist works for the Tehreek E Taliban and is responsible for the massacre of hundreds in Pakistan and for the displacement of over 3 Million people from their own land. Surprisingly this man has lived an amazing life in the USA and was working as a painter in the USA but instead of fighting against USA which he claims to be doing, he very conveniently moved to Pakistan and massacred hundreds upon hundreds of Pakistanis. If he was a terrorist why did the Americans let him return to Pakistan and not arrest him?
Terrorism and how it benefits USAs regional objectives in Afghanistan and Pakistan
It is well known that the United States has the largest presence of Armed Forces across the World. As of 2008 USA has 761 military bases around the World and this number is increasing. Not surprisingly the USA has used the terrorist threat to expand their regional objectives and confirmed they will establish permanent bases in Afghanistan as well. After the completion of several bases in Central Asia the total number of Nations with US Military bases will be 70. In addition to this there are 156 other countries in which US forces are present but there are no bases. This means the United States Military can strike at any location in the World at any time they please. However to build these bases an excuse is needed and today the excuse is terrorism. In other places it has been democracy or replacing dictatorial rule.
The USA released a statement recently saying that it would create permanent US bases in Afghanistan to stabilise the country. According to USA the justification for building these permanent bases of course is the terrorist presence. That is all without any regard for what the people of so called Democratic Afghanistan want. According to Afghan media sources 76% of Afghans want US forces out of their country. This is a much lower figure than the actual one because of fear of the occupying forces amongst the Afghans. However how the Afghans see the occupation is not a matter of concern for Democratic USA at all.
Other than creating permanent bases in Afghanistan and ignoring the wishes of the Afghan people debate rages on whether the USAs invasion of Afghanistan was about the oil pipeline that will carry oil from Central Asian states and Azerbaijan to Afghanistan from where it will go to Pakistan and then India. This is another benefit the USA has in occupying Afghanistan.
Where do the terrorists stand in all this? Their subversive activities kill mostly Afghan civilians while they continue to try and use the policies of USA to recruit youth by claiming to be "defend Islam" or fight the USA. Anti-Americanism gives the Taliban ready recruits and as long as the United States will remain in Afghanistan they will continue benefitting for more youth being drawn to their ideology. Terrorist commanders know they need the US occupation to continue the so called Jihad where inevitably only the Pakistanis or Afghans actually suffer.
The fact is if either the USA or the Taliban relent and leave the country alone or refuse to drain the blood of innocent people in the country then there will be no reason for the occupation of Afghanistan. Neither side will ever do this since it does not serve their interests. Therefore it is understood that both of them need each other to occupy the Country. It is also indisputable however that the USA has benefited most from the murderous activities of the Taliban and that if they could once form, fund and bring them to power then they can happily have them as enemies in order to reach their goals. This common interest aligns the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the USA's interests with or without them knowing it.
