There's Taliban - And Taliban

As I watch the collapse of NATO’s doomed enterprise in Afghanistan – a classic example of those who ignore history being condemned to repeat it – I can’t help thinking of our own Taliban, who have just announced that they intend to take control of our own capital, the City of London, on August 23rd; pretty much the date when Kabul is expected to fall to the insurgents. 

Our home-grown fundamentalists -‘Extinction Rebellion’- share with the Taliban a total rejection of the modern world and a similar fanatical determination to take society back to the Middle Ages. Indoctrinated in our own Madrassas/Universities, by Mullahs/Professors well-versed in ‘Climate’ fundamentalism, they are, like the Taliban, happy enough to embrace certain useful modernities. 

Their equivalent of the Kalashnikov, for instance, is the mobile phone, and their Humvee is a jet airliner, rushing between hundreds of  international strategy conferences. But they also share the Taliban’s entire rejection of the ethos of free Western society, of democracy, and of any opinions and faiths other than their own.

A PROPHET COMETH 

A theology handed down by a charismatic ‘Superior Being’ (Ms Thunberg), based on an easy explanation of things we don't understand, a guilt complex like 'original sin' needing confession of some kind, a willingness for self sacrifice like early Christians in the Roman arena, the exploitation of natural phenomena as 'proof' of their beliefs, the excommunication and persecution of heretics and unbelievers, the desire to have their beliefs enforced by the State. And, of course, an apocalyptic vision of the 'End Of Days'. The eternal in-built desire of some sections of humanity for a structured belief system, even in today’s materialistic world of consumerism, manifests itself yet again.

Anyway, as the UK rushes in six hundred troops for a last-minute evacuation of the remaining Brits in Afghanistan following the fall to the Taliban of the county's second city, Kandahar, it still surprises me that grown-up UK politicians (if that isn’t an oxymoron) and even army officers are themselves surprised by the speed of the Afghan puppet government’s collapse. How they manage to live in such a dream world is utterly beyond me. Any reading of the history of the area, starting with the total annihilation of a powerful British army in a mere twelve days during the retreat from Kabul in 1842, should have alerted both of the above to the certain outcome of the end of NATO occupation.

HISTORY REPEATS

 

The Afghans have never, at any time in their history, accepted being occupied by foreign powers. Even if you choose to ignore 19th century history, then the abject failure of the massive Soviet attempt to run Afghanistan in the 1980’s, the fate of its puppet government and its President Najibullah (who was hanged from a traffic light pole outside his own palace) should have been enough to make everyone realize what’s coming - whether we like it or not. If the members of the current Afghan government don't get out now, they're dead men.

It’s high time that the West, after so many repeated failures in the middle east and central Asia, finally realized that artificial ‘Nation-Building’ projects are inevitably doomed, especially in countries where religious, tribal, and clan loyalties far outweigh the democratic ideals of enthusiastic but clueless Westerners. The results of such attempts are always chaos and destruction. The only way to deal with rogue states is by short and extremely violent retribution whenever they attack us or sponsor attacks - not by attempting to occupy countries we don’t understand and trying to impose a cosmetic veneer of democracy.

I read today on RT that Russian troops, along with those of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, are currently actively rehearsing strategies to repel any possible Taliban border incursions. It would be interesting to know what their particular 'Rules of Engagement' are; I somehow doubt they are quite as generous as those of Western forces. I also read that EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell has just issued a stern warning to the Taliban that he will refuse to talk to them if they take over Afghanistan and establish a Caliphate. That’ll have 'em shaking in their sandals, I should imagine….

So as the Afghan army, the subject of twenty years of training by US and UK soldiers and the recipient of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of equipment, demonstrates its fearsome military capabilities by heroically running away, one is reminded that even the Soviet puppet regime in Kabul lasted for three whole years after the USSR pulled out. One wonders exactly what our military trainers were actually teaching the government’s soldiers?  Gender-neutral pronouns, perhaps….

And I would hope, though without much expectation, that the UK government will remember that even the people we thought we were supporting don’t actually like us very much. Whether the Taliban take over or not, Afghanistan is still a deeply conservative, medieval Islamic society, and to everyone there we’re still unbelievers – mere 'Kafir'. The UK government should bear that in mind before importing thousands of Afghan 'asylum-seekers' who just happened to pick the losing side.

Under the circumstances, it doesn’t look like Afghan heroine Malala Yousafzai will be going home any time soon. But perhaps her newly-acquired friend Greta [Details HERE] will fancy a trip to Kabul to keep the Taliban leadership on-message regarding ‘Climate Change’. Maybe the young prophetess could organise a few strikes by Madrassa students (boys only, naturally) should the Taliban leadership not prove themselves to be up to the mark. Now that would be fun to watch. 

Aubrey