Things got so bad in Afghanistan that refugees poured into Iran. Iran! The poster country for Islamic revolution. Or at least it was until this past weekend.
That’s when the Taliban finished its south-to-north push to
Kabul, the president of the country fled and left his underlings to worry about
which Taliban jail would serve them their last meals.
Twenty years of America’s war in Afghanistan followed the
Soviet Union’s almost as lengthy try and an even longer one from Britain.
The reasons for the US going in were iffy in the first
place. Here’s the rationale:
Osama bin Laden used the country as a practice field and
training camp, then bombed the American mainland. We had to stop copycat
killers. And evidently, we did for the most part.
How’d we do that? Sending troops by the boat and
planeload. Sending billions of dollars in sophisticated weaponry.
Training, training and more training.
Then, trump said “let’s get out of there.” So began our
exit. When the trump people started talking directly with the Taliban, the
legitimate government rightly decided America switched sides. Biden
continued the exodus. And credit to both presidents… probably plenty of
American lives were saved. But…
The Taliban began rising from the dead, began takeover
battles… and rolled over those sophisticated weapons and all that training
faster than Amtrak can get you from Los Angeles to Penn Station.
The president of the “regular” government first isolated
himself, then got out of Kabul. The American flag came down at the
embassy compound faster than your 600 horsepower Corvette gets you to the donut
shop three blocks from your house. And with less ceremony.
So we must ask, why did the “regular” army fall apart.
Gen. Wesley Clark thinks he knows. He told TV interviewers that it’s a survival
strategy. Afghanistan has learned to go with the flow. The Taliban gained
strength and population after the USSR pulled out… then went underground again
when the Americans came in.
Clark says the dream of the Taliban is to die in battle
while the dream of the regulars is to go home after work. There’s something to
that. You know, play with the kids, have dinner. Watch a little ESPN. Lie down
with whichever of your wives whose turn it is.
Meantime, has the Taliban gone all touchy-feely? In
their first news conference after “electing” themselves, the leadership said
“Hey, we’re going to give women rights.” The leopard changed his spots? Later
they amended the statement to include “within the norms of Islamic law.”
We’ll see. But no one’s betting the rent on the
likelihood that the people who stoned adulterers to death and cut off the hands
of thieves yesterday are going to read “suspects” their Miranda rights
today. After all, in that region of the world you invoke the right to
remain silent by someone cutting off your head.
In the meantime, over here… we have an obligation to help
those who helped us over there. We have a moral obligation to do that and do it
fast. Get ‘em out without the TSA wandings and just hope no one is
wearing a shoe bomb.
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome
to them. ®
Any questions? wesrichards@gmail.com
© WR 2021
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