THE TALIBAN – Who are they?

Know thy enemy, know thy self… Sun Tzu- The Art of War.

There’s a good argument that we did not fully understand the enemy or ourselves. Or, take Tzu’s advice seriously. History repeated itself in late August, 2021 with the fall of Kabul.

Many Americans have a notion that Afghanistan is a nation somewhere in Central Asia, landlocked among a half dozen other countries with names ending in “-stans.” Realistically that’s a misconception. Basically, Afghanistan is a collection of fourteen major ethnic tribes, atavistic in their culture. Most have no allegiance to each other or to a modern, central government, much less to a nation patterned after a Democratic Republic. National identity is not a passion.

That’s one reason our nation building attempts collapsed. We failed to recognize that rudimentary feature of our enemy. The average Afghan had few aspirations to live under our collective form of government. When corruption flourished in Kabul under our new system, it did not go unnoticed. Long-term we were destined not to succeed. Similar to our Vietnam experience, we did not win the hearts and minds of the countryside.

America entered Afghanistan under the pretext to take out Osama bin Laden and his jihadist network following 9/11. We stayed on as a deterrent to jihadists, essentially to prevent a safe haven for Al Qaeda to pull off another 9/11.

Seal Team Six accomplished that major goal in 2011 by assassinating Osama bin Laden. Having achieved a military status quo though air power by that date, we could have gracefully exited Afghanistan, but stayed on to nation build. Was that a wise or a contentious decision?

That is the gist of the “forever war” argument. I won’t try to solve the controversy, but will point out some cogent facts about our involvement in Afghanistan. Did we once again fail to learn the lessons of history? 

The Afghan tribes have engaged in “forever wars” with each other for centuries. They’ve united only periodically to defeat the British, Russians, and us. Their resolve for independence to follow their third world ways has endured. They think in centuries, not decades and have no desire for the trappings of modernity. Or foreigners in their country. Like the North Vietnamese, they outlasted us.

Since the 7^th century, the provincial tribes have answered only to their local warlords, mullahs, or chieftains. Predominantly Sunni Muslims they embrace the Islamic religion. And they follow its Sharia Law tenants earnestly.

That Islamic conviction is the key to understanding the rise of the Taliban, the “Holy Warriors.” And to explain our failure to recognize we were fighting an ideology, not just a resilient, insurgent army. That war has no borders, time table, or rules of engagement.

They were not the “ragtag” force we thought they were. This disconnect is analogous to our flawed mindset in Vietnam while fighting the Vietcong. Perception is not reality.

To further explain the Taliban a brief historical background is in order-

Many current Taliban are the offspring of the Pashtun jihadist mujahideen who occupied the Kandahar province during the war with Russia, 1979 to 1989.  Led by Mullah Muhammed Omar they were instrumental in defeating the Russians with the help of the CIA who supplied them with Stinger missiles. Those MANPADS proved pivotal in the outcome of the war. The Taliban went on to defeat the other tribes over the next six years. To the victors, the spoils. Afghanistan became the Taliban’s after the coup d’etat of the Russian supported government in Kabul, 1996.

The Taliban remained relatively friendly until Osama bin Laden arrived from Sudan seeking sanctuary in the early ‘90s. His vast wealth and religious fervor introduced radical Islamic Sharia law into Afghanistan, the Saudi Wahhabi version. Osame bin Laden set up Al Qaeda jihadist training camps over the next five years. You know the rest of that story.

Subsequently the Taliban became our foe when the Kandahar Shura took over Kabul’s Communist government in 1996. After six years of tribal infighting following Russia’s exit in 1989, the other tribes fell in line. The Taliban ran the country until our forces defeated them.

That created an ironic situation- The 9/11 paradox- Former mujahideen allies became our jihadist enemy because the Taliban harbored Osama bin Laden, the 9/11 architect. That horrific act changed everything.

Rarely mentioned in the current news cycle -The Afghan mujahideen’s war with Russia took place during the Cold War. That rigid mindset influenced our involvement in Afghanistan. The CIA paramilitary conducted a ghost war in Afghanistan for over twenty years before our post-9/11 invasion. To put that fact in perspective, our “forever war” lasted over forty years. Just for the record – if you are keeping count.

Another little-known fact- The average age in Afghanistan is eighteen. About half of the Taliban were born after 9/11. The second generation mujahideen have only experienced war. That’s all they know. Ponder that…

In conclusion- This “forever war” has not ended, only moved to the next phase. The chaos of our withdrawal could have been avoided.

I predict that we will soon learn what “forever” feels like because of our flawed strategies…

Santayana- “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – Life of Reason, 1905