Fiddling While Afghanistan Burns

The Taliban is back. Remember them? The theocratic thugs who siezed control of Afghanistan in the 90's, and extended harbor to Osama bin Laden and al Qae'da, our real enemy, the one who made September 11 possible? Surely you remember Osama?

While we were getting bogged down in Iraq under the guise of fighting terrorism (it must be remembered here that Iraq had nothing to do with September 11) and distracted from the focus of the *War on Terra,* the Taliban fell back and regrouped. Now they are pervasive in the cities of Afghanistan and ready for a winter of urban guerilla warfare, punctuated by explosions, car bombs and suicide bombings. Afghan intelligence is warning of 35 suicide bombers who have infiltrated the cities and are planning to launch simultaneous strikes during this week’s Eid holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan.

Apparently the Taliban are effectively challenging NATO forces, because the NATO allies are considering establishing a Baghdad-style "Green Zone" to keep allied interests and representatives "safe."

This is quite the turnabout. If you will recall, the troops who invaded Afghanistan and routed the Taliban were indeed met with cheering throngs, after three decades of civil strife.

That was then. Now the Afghans are increasingly disillusioned with the deteriorating security situation. In Farah province, the Taliban revived local support when they beheaded a group of highwaymen that the local authorities had failed to stop.

The NATO allies have the winter to either turn the tide, or face a slow grinding guerilla war, like the one in Iraq. The British have been kicked out of Afghanistan three times, and the Russians learned their lessons there in the 1980's. After three decades of civil war, the Afghan people just want some peace and security. If the Taliban can provide that, they will put their kites and musical instruments back in their attics and follow the theocrats.

There is a historical long-view that needs to be considered, and how the momentum was lost must be evaluated honestly, and blame fairly apportioned.