Maybe this is a dumb question, but I’ve been thinking about it recently. With the Taliban taking back over Afghanistan, I’m trying to see things from a non-American perspective.
Is the Taliban actually a bad organization or do they have a warped image of being evil thanks to America? Are they more comparable to say, Hamas, rather than ISIS?
They were trained by the CIA, so you don't have to wring your hands wondering whether or not they're really a bunch of bastards.
Fun fact, The United States wrote a mujahideen textbook for Afghani children and distributed it through the country. It taught ABC's and also how to build bombs, shoot guns, and perform jihad. My heart breaks for the kids who read this shit, but there's no denying that it turned them into a fucked-up group of people.
Trained by the CIA is really overstating the facts. That's like saying I was raised by my dad if my dad left when I was born, but paid some child support and sent the occasional postcard.
Trained by the people who were trained by the CIA? I don't know, there's a lot of reporting out there that points to the CIA being directly involved in operations in Afghanistan back in the day. There are younger generations of guys who didn't have direct contact with the US for sure, but the wheels were set in motion by American hands.
Fun fact, The United States wrote a mujahideen textbook for Afghani children and distributed it through the country. It taught ABC’s and also how to build bombs, shoot guns, and perform jihad.
Everytime they hit a new low they just keep raising the bar
the USA is like the Michael Jordan of foreign misconduct
They tried this in China too lmao, got a few people on the school board to distribute textbooks that promoted Turkic nationalism and fundamentalism.
When the state caught on and recalled all the textbooks and arrested the perpetrators, the western reporting on it was something along the lines of "China silences dissidents and pushes propaganda onto children"
the Taliban are bad. they are like ISIS levels of bad. they came out of the Mujahideen who overthrew the Socialist Republic of Afghanistan. we meme about them because they kill Yankee and Anglo scum, but no the Taliban are very very bad and reactionary. the point however is not that it is up to outside powers to invade and set up a puppet regime, but for the people of Afghanistan to have their own liberation be decided by them and not a western backed puppet who wants to use them for resource extraction
No actually. The Taliban are just a bunch of guys that like having a good time with good friends. They enjoy grilling.
There is a good article written by a Pakistani communist commenting on the situation in Afghanistan in the 80s, that I'm having trouble finding rn on JSTOR. He mentioned that western observers, even on the left, fail to understand the nature of ultra reaction in Afghanistan. It's not that they're fascist-- it's worse than that. They are literally medieval, in a way that's hard for people outside the area to comprehend. For all the faults of the Afghan communists (they were arrogant and launched a coup without significant support outside of Kabul), their struggle against the warlords in the countryside was truly noble, even though the people themselves were deeeeply imbedded in feudal ideology which made the project nearly impossible. There was no state presence or modern economic development of any kind in some areas.
That being said, the fact that china looks like it's going to willingly trade with and develop a Taliban controlled Afghanistan means that the material conditions in the countryside may be vastly improved in a generation, something that was completely ignored under US occupation. Hopefully, the violently reactionary nature of the Taliban combined with their strategic value to BRI will create the conditions for a more proper revolution. It's tragic that it's taken this long, it's truly a beautiful country with a lot of potential
I would say they are similar to Hamas in the aspect that they are the strongest faction of anti-imperialists in their region due to the liberal and socialist factions being decimated from decades of western interference. Although in Afghanistan, some of that decimation came from the socialists themselves being a touch ultra-Left and advancing faster than the Afghani people could tolerate. But thats a different can of worms.
That said, the complete withdrawal of Nato forces from Afghanistan which most likely will lead to the taliban installing an Islamic fundamentalist government will have the negative repercussions that comes from having a reactionary state in power. But it is from here the Afghani people can begin to build towards their liberation through the liberalization and eventually socialization of their society with their on hands.
They're bad, but they're gonna be in charge for the foreseeable future and better them than a hundred warlords/militias fighting each other.
Every regional actor will have to work with them. Hopefully, counter-veilling progressive forces will develop within Afghanistan.
I think one thing that many overlook is that their not one montholic organisation more like a federation of tribal militias with a 'franchise'
Bad, but nothing we can do about it right now. This is their fight. We have no good will with a vast majority of Afghans. Why should they trust us?
:shrug-outta-hecks: last time the Taliban were in charge the situation was very different. Who knows what current leadership & membership will become when they transition from a wartime liberation movement.
