"Where Turbanites Came From"

It's bad enough to be fighting an enemy that burrows in caves and is as elusive as some nocturnal marsupial, but to not even understand where they came from makes it even more difficult. Maybe this will help some of you who are having the same problem understanding who they are and how they got here. At least, this is the way I understand it.

Back during the cold war, the Soviet Union was doing what good communist do- expand communism. As they sent Russian troops across the borders of Afghanistan in 1979, U.S. President Jimmy Carter aligned with the Russian opposition, the mujahendin . We provided about $30 million tax dollars to bolster the defiance in covert aid. We didn't check out their qualifications, sincerity, honesty, trustworthiness, nothing. They were the only game in town, so we jumped on their side.

Just six years later the Reagan Administration had increased the funding to topple the evil Soviet Empire to $250 million a year. The Russians by now were in a quagmire in Afghanistan. Soviet troops in Afghanistan numbered over 115,000. It was THEIR Vietnam. They were losing thousands of soldiers and armament. In 1984 we were smelling blood. The annual amount of covert support given to the mujahendin reached $700 million dollars by 1988.

When the Soviets pulled out, what was left of law and order came in the form of "every man for himself". The Afghan rebels were not under one general leader. Each region elected a leader based on his social contacts and ability to defend that region. What you had was more like Rebel bands of highwaymen, pirates and thieves. Some of them had control of massive arsenals left by the Russians. Someone once wrote that the Afghan rebels went from being lusty freedom fighters to Amish with AK's. Maybe the vast holdings of opium help a little too. If you are looking for a comparison, maybe it would be small bands of former Civil War soldiers raiding homes and businesses. By 1988 Afghanistan was like the Wild West, there was no law except the gun. Everything was in complete disarray. The Soviets pull out in 1989. The United States signed an agreement with the Soviet Union just two years later that stated neither country would meddle in Afghanistan's affairs.

It was an easy one to sign. Who wanted that real estate anyway. It was like trying to plant a pansy in a fire art bed. These people were renegades; many of them sampling the fruits of the poppy seed harvest. They were back alley thugs with discarded Soviet tanks at their disposal.

OK, now here's how the Taliban comes in. Picture a lawless west with a gunfight on every corner. What's worse is, if this was a western, most of the Christians were being slaughtered, the women were being raped, there was gambling ,drug use and prostituion everywhere you turned. It was Sodom and Gomorrah on every corner.

Now, in rides a strict fundamentalist on his white horse. The Lone De-Ranger was a one-eyed Mullah Muhammad Omar. He came with a small posse of war-hardened soldiers. They were called the Taliban, or "Students for Islamic Knowledge Movement". The movement begin innocently enough with a little shootout on the edge of Dodge City. In this case it was a small border incident in Spin Boldak. A group of 30 former religious students who had studied together, attacked the attackers. Kind of like religious vigilantes.

This would be like Jerry Falwell and his band called the Falwell Monks taking back Las Vegas, restoring Christianity and shutting down brothels and casino's; generally bringing order back to the neighborhood. In this case, Falwell would be Osama Bin Ladin. By the way, one of the ways the Taliban did this was public executions. You didn't even need a ticket. You could go to the stadium in Kabul every Friday at 3:30pm to cheer as thieves were amputated, killers shot and bad people got a flogging they'd never forget. Once in control, the Islamic fundamentalist installed a form of Islamic law that was more radial than any interpretations of the Koran. It would be like Falwell interpreting the bible that everyone must pick up snakes at the next church gathering. This to prove one's faith and really separate the believers from the pew warmers. The next move was to rid the men of temptation by placing the women out of sight, out of mind.

So how did we get on the wrong side of this religious vigilante who has become a murdering dictator? After Russia pulled out of the country and after the Taliban controlled 95% of the land, Osama turned his hatred for Israel into hatred for America . Maybe it was the opium; maybe it was Allah; maybe it was a bad case of hemorrhoids; but America was sin: sin was America. From our perversion with pornography to the lights of Las Vegas, from New York's decadence to Florida's sin city, the USA was the equivalent of sin. And because we aligned our politics with support for Israel, that made declaring a terrorist war against us, U.S. even more heroic, justified and redeeming of Allah's infinite rewards.

So there. From the time of Jimmy Carter, we funded the opposition and we created opposition. Now we're aligning with another band of misfits called the Northern Alliance to help us root out the Taliban. Hey, that's politics. And just because we don't know who will be on what side ten years from now, let's make sure we don't leave the keys in the tanks when we turn out the lights. Just in case!

Paul Gallo

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