The Taliban Takes Charge

 

Today the President of Afghanistan fled and left the country to the care of the Taliban. His troops had offered little resistance to the advances of the renegade terrorist forces. This president has long been considered corrupt and one who had little connection to the general populace. However, he was the head of the country and, until now, the head of a mostly functional government. As I see it, this is a catastrophic end to a sad war. This situation offers lots of questions but provides few answers.

Why did this happen?

Could this breakdown have been predicted and prevented?

Where were our military and CIA intelligence on these matters?

Should we have moved staff and supporters before we announced the dates of our withdrawal?

What will happen to the women who remain? How will girls have access to education? The country employed Afghan women in positions across the government for many of the last twenty years; will the civil service just dissolve? Does public service disappear? Will women meekly return to the Draconian medieval rule of the Taliban as seen before the war? Where is the moral authority that can challenge these policies? Today, there are 40 million people living in Afghanistan. What does the future hold for them?

Pundits say that western nations will have little influence over the actions of the Taliban while other countries such as China and Russia will try to get influence eventually to take minerals and other wealth. Some consider Pakistan and some other nearby Islamic countries, such as Iran, as allies, and are currently allowing some refugees to enter.

There are already tales of executions in other parts of the country and punishments for women who are seen using smartphones or being out of their homes unaccompanied by a male relative.

Others say that the Taliban has changed; that the new leaders will try to govern, but this seems doubtful. They already have control of all the millions of dollars worth of military equipment which Americans left the Afghans so that they could defend their country. Who knows if we could destroy all sensitive material as the Embassy was abandoned? What leverage do the Americans have to change anything now?

Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) said that ‘this was a failure of intelligence as the US underestimated the Taliban and overestimated the ability of the Afghan forces.’ It appears that once Ben Laden was located and killed, then our anti-terrorist mission in the country was abandoned and we instead fought the Taliban. The Taliban has now opened the jails, which held many real terrorists who may again form terrorist cells across the area.

Congresswoman Liz Cheney tweeted:

“The Trump/Biden calamity unfolding in Afghanistan began with the Trump administration negotiating with terrorists and pretending they were partners for peace, and is ending with American surrender as Biden abandons the country to our terrorist enemies.”

Of course, she is defending the family association with the war, as her father was one of the biggest cheerleaders for going into Afghanistan (and Iraq) over twenty years ago when he served as VP for President Bush. Generally, Republicans are ‘out tweeting’ themselves in attacks on President Biden for his troop withdrawal decision. But, what decision would they have made–endless war with no solutions? Their president had set an even earlier withdrawal date.

President Biden had expected that the Taliban would gradually take control over the next year and did not expect this rapid fall of the established government. Additional troops are currently arriving in Kabul to stabilize the airport and protect and evacuate the remaining Americans there and remove as many of the Afghans who worked for the US as they can. The US thought that there was more time to get visas for these translators, drivers, guides, and their families. We had already started bringing some to the US and nearby countries for processing, but this was a small number when compared to those who could have been moved. However, reports state that the Taliban is hunting those remaining and killing them for their work with the Americans. Although President Biden indicated such actions would bring international scorn and isolation, others had noted that international opinions mean little to the Taliban and that they prefer being outside the international norms as they create their Islamic state. They have already announced the “new country’s” name as the Islamic Emirate. Many think that the country will again become a haven for Al-Qaeda, Isis, and other terrorist groups.

How did the US get to this point in this too-long war? President Biden has long opposed this war. He was a lone voice in opposition to President Obamas’ agreement to the military surge. President Obama voted against the Iraq War when he was a Senator, but went along when the military assured him the surge in Afghanistan would provide a way to end the US involvement. In case you forgot, that was over ten years ago. The previous president went into “peace talks” with the Taliban, which excluded the Afghans and set in advance the date for withdrawal of US forces. He secured an agreement that the Taliban would not attack Americans once the agreement was in effect. This then allowed the Taliban to just bide their time and wait until the troops left Afghanistan.

I think that President Biden was correct in leaving this war. He could see that there was no way to “win” and that we could not force our will for democracy on a country that did not share our goals. The New York Times noted that the Afghan troops on remote bases relied on Americans for air cover and supplies. Once the Americans stepped back, the local military commands could not maintain supply routes or provide adequate air cover. Soldiers who were left on bases with little food or ammunition just faded into the night and left their bases, armaments and all, as the Taliban approached; often few shots were fired.

Over 600,000 American troops fought in Afghanistan over the last 20 years; there were over 2500 American troops who lost their lives in this war. Countless others returned maimed from war injuries or continue to suffer from traumatic brain injuries or traumatic stress disorder. Aside from the trillions of dollars spent, wars have a human cost that follows long after the shooting stops. But, maybe soon, we can say that the US is no longer at war anywhere.

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This weekend, Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake of 7.2 strength; this was even stronger than the quake several years ago in 2010, which almost destroyed the capital of Port-au-Prince and left over 300,000 dead and thousands more injured. The country has yet to recover from that first earthquake and, years later, a subsequent hurricane. Now, this latest earthquake has already claimed over 1300 dead, and another tropical storm heads for the island, even as the search and rescue continue. Fortunately, this quake happened in a less populated portion of the country. The recent assassination of the country’s president and the reality that there is no entity in charge compounds rescue options as gangs roam the streets of the capital city. Americans are sending aid and search and rescue teams, so hopefully, help can arrive before the storm.

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Now to the other news which has us all masking up again and staying inside- the Delta variant. It is now present in every county in this country. The New York Times reports that Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida have the highest rates of cases per 100,000, with rates of 126, 110, and 101 respectively. Florida has over 15,000 residents hospitalized. Texas has over 10,000 patients currently hospitalized with COVID, mostly the Delta variant and most unvaccinated. Case rates are increasing across Maryland and the DC Metro area also, but at lower levels. As schools are getting ready to open for the fall semester, controversies about mask mandates are accelerating. The Florida Governor is continuing his anti-mask rants even as polls show, he is losing popularity over this stance. He has threatened school boards and superintendents if they do not follow his dictates. Children, too young to be vaccinated are becoming quite ill with this variant, a change from the original coronavirus population. The Delta variant spreads much more rapidly and sickens soon after exposure. Texans are also having similar problems with their governor. Isn’t it great to see that parents really want to protect their children and are ready to stand up and defy measures (such as no masks) that they believe are harmful?

Covid Stats - NYTimes:

Total US cases: 36,727,846. New Cases: 130,808. 

Total Deaths: 621,228. New Deaths: 662.

Maryland Totals: 8/13/21: Total Cases: 478,067. New Cases: 950.

Total Deaths: 9,878. New Deaths: 5.

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Could it be possible that once this present debacle is over, that this country is headed for a period of peace and we will have no wars to fight? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a generation grow up and not get battle scars as they enter adulthood? I wonder, if as someone once told me, that the only way to get promoted in the military is to have combat experience, will we find some conflict somewhere that demands our intervention? Who knows? (That said, my three brothers, my husband, my stepfather, and my uncle all served, so I know to not glorify war.)

“Til next week, Peace!