Afghanistan's Mujahadeen

Canada pulled the bulk of its military out of Afghanistan, leaving behind several hundred to continue the training mission undertaken by NATO to attempt to ensure that Afghan national police and the military would be capable of holding their own against the Taliban, certain to resurge definitively once foreign troops depart and leave the field wide open.  Our presence there was deemed necessary originally to oust and hold accountable al-Qaeda, ensconced in Afghanistan as guests of the Taliban.

Our continued presence of a full decade of counter-strife was deemed necessary to save Afghanistan from itself.  With a focus on the plight of women living under Sharia, and even when Sharia law was lifted, living under a cultural heritage that was marginally improved from the sere, substandard existence that the Taliban imposed.  Men in Afghanistan would far prefer women to be 'modest', wearing the societally traditionally burqa, and never seen in public.

The presence of foreign diplomats, humanitarian aid workers from the international community, and foreign volunteers, all determined to 'make a difference' in that benighted country, to lift its standards into a societal awakening more resembling what passes for normality and equality in other parts of the world, has ensured that the Government of Afghanistan has accepted the need to modernize itself through the education and equality of its women.

Just how deeply engrained custom and heritage and tribal adherence to both was the mentality displayed a week ago when the Taliban assembled to hold court in condemning a married woman to death.  This 22-year-old Afghan woman, married to a Taliban, was accused of having had illicit sexual relations with a Taliban commander.  Nothing was said about his penalty, hers was public humiliation and disgrace, and a flogging before over a hundred cheering Afghan men.

An audience made up of ordinary Afghan men, not members of the Taliban, but who cheered on the Taliban, calling them, fondly "mujahadeen", and savouring the spectacle of a defenceless woman cowering in terror at the summary capital punishment that the spontaneous 'court of justice' bestowed upon her. This is a society where young girls are given in marriage, they are powerless to resist.

The video image of a lone woman, terrified and helpless, the victim of jeering men, and her final dispatch has haunted Western sensibilities since it was aired and published outside the country.  And this is the mentality of a people displayed in full living colour.  This happens also to be explicated further by Afghan President Hamid Karzai referring constantly to the Taliban as 'brothers'.  The gains in freedoms Afghan women have see over the past decade would erode completely under returning Taliban rule.

And now, President Karzai has gone a little further; from initial overtures to convince the Taliban that they might wish to co-rule with him, to appealing to the supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, to run for political office.  The sky is the limit; according to President Karzai - chosen by the Northern Alliance, the U.S. and NATO, to become President of Afghanistan ten years ago - Mullah Omar also should aspire to the highest office of the land.

"I repeat my call on all Afghans, those who aren't the puppets of others (referring, doubtless, to association with and allegiance to Pakistan's ISI) and have [only] issues with us at home- they're welcome for any talks.  Mullah Mohammad Omar can come inside Afghanistan anywhere he wants to.  He can open political office for himself, but he should leave the gun.  He, along with his friends, can come and create his political party, do politics, become a candidate himself for the elections.  If people voted for him, good for him, he can take the leadership in his hand."

How generous and brotherly of Hamid Karzai.  After all the international sacrifices on behalf of the people of Afghanistan that the foreign community has made in forfeiting the lives of their military men and women, their diplomats, their state treasury, all in attempts to ensure the Taliban would not return to plague Afghans again, the very man installed to bring the country out of the Stone Age is inviting it back.

As for Mullah Omar, he has rebuffed Karzai's overtures before, and he will do so again.  The very notion of democracy, of elections, of a Western-style parliament is anathema to such as he.  Yes, he intends to take the helm of government once again in Afghanistan.  But he has no need of an invitation from President Karzai to do so.  He will take what he wants by forceful violence, for this is what mujahadeen do, after all.