Today, August 22, 2011, a look will be taken at Afghanistan. This is not a tribute, as was the case with previous articles in this month of tributes to those murdered on September 11, 2001. Hopefully, it will turn out to be a realistic look. Would the killings of 9/11 have happened if Afghanistan had not been turned into a state where groups with terror ambitions had the entire country, or many areas, as a training ground? It sure looks as if the scale and ambition of the “project” owes a lot to the conditions that were present in that country, in 2001 and prior.

This PBS article recorded the fall of Kabul on November 13-14, 2001. The US was mad as hell and was not going to take it anymore. The Taliban had turned Afghanistan, as I termed it, into a terror bat cave. The Northern Alliance Forces moved into Kabul, the Taliban left without even packing a suitcase. The “War on Terror” should have been almost over, right? There will be more on that later. I was particularly intrigued by the following from the article:

MAN: I feel very happy because the Taliban troops went from Kabul. People of Afghanistan don't like those people.

This is the debris of defeat -- a Taliban pickup truck which was packed with their soldiers destroyed by an American missile as it tried to flee Kabul.

And late yesterday, as the Taliban were pulling out, the Americans bombed the villa which had housed their head of security for Kabul. The bombs missed their target because the men had fled two days before. I met the owner of the house who had been forced to hand it over to the Taliban.

MAN: You aren't going to pay the rent. And they told us if you come in this area, we will shoot you. Yes.

JULIAN MANYON: You weren't allowed to come back to your own house.

MAN: Yes

WOMAN: As a woman, I feel tranquil and free in Kabul. We want peace, we want the burkha to be removed and we want to work.

One man had his house “confiscated” by the Taliban for the use of one of its “officials.” A lady desired to “let the sun shine in,” by stripping herself of that hideous garment called a burka/burqa/burkha. Why do they have so many spellings for the same item?

The euphoria of partially succeeding in ridding at least Kabul of the Taliban quickly faded.  I had shared in that euphoria. I had some choice words for the “Tail-Banned,” my term of endearment. I wrote in my book “Thoughts of A Proud American”:

Saturday, 10/6/01

A brave Afghani journalist filmed a segment of life under the “Tail-

Banned.” The “highlight” of the piece was that of a woman being executed

in a stadium. The stadium was built with other people’s money, and was

intended to be a soccer stadium. It appears that women rank below animals in that Taliban-controlled society. Is that what we want here in the USA? I know that the only way I am wearing any covering over my face is if I want to make a fashion statement! Women here in the US have come too far to turn back! Ain’t going to happen here!

Tuesday, 11/13/01

Kabul has fallen! Kabul has fallen! Kabul has fallen! Actually the Tail-

Banned have run away. The citizens are now in control, and are they showing it. These “civilians” know more about decapitating and quartering a body than a coroner. I was listening to a firsthand report from a reporter, I believe from the Washington Post. He described how these “civilians” were portioning out their brand of justice. They caught some of the foreign Tail-Banned volunteer army who had not gotten the command: “Run for your lives!” When these “volunteers” came out of their rat holes, they were mauled. There was a report of a Tail-Banned soldier who made like Tarzan and ran up a tree. No problem.

The civilians promptly helped him down – with the aid of a rifle. Then, in

order not to leave the job unfinished, they hacked his body into nicely filleted pieces. See what happens when you support Evil – you get filleted. This is not acceptable behavior in any circumstances, but I would be a hypocrite if I said that I am shedding any tears.

Music is back in a big way in Kabul! I think those people would be

playing the “Star Spangled Banner” if they could get a copy. The men are

reintroducing some sunlight to their faces. They are shaving off those forests of hair that they were forced to sprout. The women? Lookout! Here comes a burqa flying through the air! The women are shedding those burqas faster than you can say strip!

Yep, I was pretty jazzed. But,  here we are almost a decade later, and the “banned” Taliban is not so banned. The US government is holding talks with the same Taliban. In the meantime, the Taliban is letting its bombs, guns, swords, whatever weapon can kill – do its talking. Why, it even claimed responsibility for killing 32 US troops, including members of Team Seal Six, the team that supposedly killed Usama/Osama/Whatever.

I had already told myself that since that body was never shown to Joe Public, I was going to wait until confirmation was received from a member or members of Seal Team Six, when those persons retired from the Military. I guess I will have to continue to be doubting Thomasina.

Something is too convenient and coincidental in Le Affaire Bin Laden. He shows up in Pakistan, which was often described as an “ally” in the used to be war on terror, with billions in aid to show for that “allegiance.” Pakistan does not know he is there. He is suddenly killed, but no evidence. Then coincidentally, either the troops who killed him, or other members of that same team, get killed by the Taliban. Why can’t I experience the same type of coincidence by discovering a pot of gold outside my door?  After I finish this article, I will check. One never knows.

In the meantime and back to reality, writer Diane West does not paint a pretty picture of the events unfolding in Libya:

In more startling terms, the same people who fought with al Qaeda against Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan (and committed unreported atrocities in Libya), are now, thanks to the US taxpayer, very likely about to run, or at least help run, a state with the ninth largest oil reserves in the world.

Unless I am confused about what is going on in Afghanistan and Libya, the US is now on the side of the Taliban and “the same people who fought with al Qaeda against Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan”? What a difference a decade makes. Unless there is any mistake on the part of anyone who reads this article of mine, I am not on the side of Qadafi, or whichever variation is the correct spelling of his name. I am allergic to dictators. The following excerpt that I wrote in my book, back in 2003 shows my abiding dislike of dictators. I wrote:

Those who look with favor at tyrants and despots, pass on this tome. I do

not hide my disdain and my deep antipathy for those who use their power to crush the limbs, lives and dreams of the helpless. Even when we “do not have a dog in the fight,” we should take out tyrants, until the wannabes study their history and “self-regulate.”

It is precisely that distaste for the tyrannical and despotic, why I chose to live in the US. However, as events keep unfolding here, I am beginning to fear that I may have been naïve to believe “not in America.” If I am to be absolutely truthful, I had more freedom in my island of birth. Maybe it is the size of the place, but we knew the political crooks. In the US, the sleight of hand used to be more sophisticated. That is changing and the political tricks become more overt.

Questions. Questions. Whither in Afghanistan? When the fifteen year  anniversary of 9/11 comes around, will we see a complete return of the Taliban in Afghanistan? Will Russia be laughing at the US for stupidly emulating its Afghanistan adventure, in wasting a decade of treasure, human and financial, and leaving in a stalemate? Why was defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, victory that was seemingly attained in 2001? When did it become more important to “win hearts and minds,” instead of killing the bad guys? Why is it so easy to take advantage of the American people? Are we that stupid?

Since I have contributed to paying for this used to be war on terror, what would I like to see in Afghanistan? I would like to see a lasting ROI (return on investment), by the ordinary folks gaining more freedom to run their lives, without living in fear of retribution from whatever tribal affiliates are in power at the moment. I would like to see no more terror being grown there. I would like to see the poppy fields used to produce pretty flowers for horticultural purposes, and not “medicinal” purposes. I would like to read about girls and women moving up the social hierarchy, way above the stallions. Yes, I am a dreamer. I will keep on dreaming.

In the meantime, I will keep praying to God to bless and preserve the USA. Even its enemies should realize by now, that should it fall, their well being will not necessarily be guaranteed. The perceived “patsy” of the world, will not be there to pick up or patch the pieces.

Thank you Joan M., for this nostalgic vocal reminder of the America we love! God Bless America!