Article submitted by guest writer Rashed Saleh
More than twenty years later, from the greatest catastrophe that struck America in its modern history, the American political class seems to have forgotten the lessons that emerged in its aftermath. Every year on the anniversary of the attacks, American politicians take to social media or appear on TV screens, and all, without fail, repeat the same phrases of “never again” and “never forget.” However, their actions are a complete contradiction to those words, as they continue to fund and work with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, a terrorist group with the blood of thousands of Americans on their hands and a facilitator of the 9/11 attacks.
To give some context, on August 15th, 2021, the democratically elected government of the country, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, was overthrown as a direct consequence of the disgraceful Doha deal that the US signed with the Taliban. The deal rendered Afghan security forces powerless and tied their hands to resist the Taliban onslaught, as the vital and critical support from our supposed 'allies' abruptly came to a halt. Since then, the Biden administration has not only done everything in its power to weaken the resistance to the Taliban but has also aided them in consolidating their draconian rule through weekly shipments of 40 to 80 million dollars to Kabul.
After August 2021, the Biden administration, in an attempt to save face and mask its complete ineptitude, engaged in a public propaganda campaign to whitewash the Taliban and portray them as a reformed entity that America can work with. However, the Taliban’s actions have revealed the complete opposite. Women have once again been pushed to the fringes, reminiscent of the '90s, and the group’s connection to Al-Qaeda is as strong, if not stronger, than it was in the '90s. America’s current policies and thinking are as misguided as they were back then when they ignored the terrorist regime in Kabul and hoped that terrorism would remain contained. We all know how that turned out.
Washington, since the fall of Kabul, has shamefully worked against the various armed resistance groups engaged in a noble struggle to liberate the country from the Taliban and pave the way for the restoration of democracy and human rights. The State Department, for the past three years, without shame, has engaged in lecturing the Afghan public that they should accept the Taliban as their rulers and should not fight them, as doing so is against their interests. The majority of Afghans cannot comprehend the logic and rationale behind not standing up for freedom, liberty, and dignity, and instead submitting to a terrorist extremist group as our ruler, like Washington wants us to. Allowing terrorism to proliferate without restraint turns it into a cancer that will spread everywhere, and the Western world is not immune to this. This is evident through the recently found ISKP members in the U.S. and the terrorist attack in Germany by an Islamist extremist. What would have happened if that terrorist in Germany wielded a rifle instead of a knife and those terrorists in the U.S. had not been caught?
The Taliban are overwhelmingly unpopular among the Afghan public; millions have fled since their return to power. One key factor that has allowed their grip on power to continue is the weekly cash deliveries ranging from 40 to 80 million dollars that they receive via an American-chartered private jet. This flow of cash, which comes in the guise of funds for NGOs and lines the pockets of the Taliban, is used to fuel the repression against the local populace and to strengthen their savage methods of crushing dissent, especially in the northern regions of the country, where the presence of the Taliban and their ideology are starkly alien to the locals. American taxpayers should hold the Biden administration accountable for where their hard-earned money goes. What would Gold Star families feel and think, knowing that their government makes weekly payments to the murderers of their daughters and sons?
History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Similar to the 90’s, when the legendary commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, who spearheaded the first resistance against the Taliban and was assassinated two days before 9/11, warned America about the looming threat of terrorism reaching their shores. Ahmad Massoud now echoes his father’s words and walks in his footsteps, battling the Taliban for a better and brighter Afghanistan. Americans just as they ignored his father’s warnings are ignoring his. Washington should remind itself of the lessons of 9/11 and instead of hindering the resistance to Taliban it should bolster it. An Afghanistan free of terrorists would mean a safer America, an Afghanistan in the grips of terrorists means another inevitable 9/11.
Hmm, the USA created most of the mess in Afghanistan in the first place. Your article is strongly subjective I feel, with a very clear dislike of the Taliban. I also feel that your position is not going to prove the wellfare of the majority (you know democracy) of the population. More conflicts, as you want a solution from the Americans, is going to result in more suffering
No mention of NATO- US war crimes in Afghanistan.