Now this will be the reason for the “pride” of terrorists.
America has promised to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by 9/11 – and the choice of a “date” timed for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks seems either a nice symbol or a mockery.
Photo: AP
This means that with the al-Qaeda terrorist organization banned in Russia, accused of attacks on the New York twins World Trade Center in 2001, the Americans have at least settled. The disgusting bearded man Osama bin Laden was expelled from Abbotabad in Pakistan. And the Taliban (the Taliban, a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation) who hid it in Afghanistan were expelled from Kabul. Gestalt, as they say in fashion, seems to be closed. The symbolic importance of linking the US withdrawal from Afghan soil to a historical date is therefore justified.
But then there's room for ridicule. Because, as twenty years ago, the Americans came to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, this war led nowhere and became the longest armed conflict in United States history. They failed to defeat the Taliban. Yes, they were led, as they say, for Mozhay. But then the radicals came back again and again.
And despite the fact that the withdrawal of US troops and their allies is “wrapped up” in agreements with the Taliban in Doha, what is happening is reminiscent of an escape. This was very well illustrated by the departure of the Americans from the base in Bagram – they left in English without informing the Afghan command.
Now experts are arguing: official Kabul troops left without foreign military support will be the country, or it will inevitably fall under the blows of Taliban militants. And if it falls, how soon will it happen. And if such prospects are speculative for “TV heads”, the return of the Taliban does not bode well for many Afghan people.
People have not forgotten the massacre carried out by the Taliban, which invaded Kabul, on the country's former president, Najibullah, who left the UN mission with his brother, militants.
They have not forgotten the draconian bans that have fallen on the heads of Afghans by the rulers of the Islamic emirate proclaimed by the Taliban: television, music, the internet and chess have been banned. Men were required to wear beards of a certain length. And women were not only to adhere to strict dress codes, but also to work (and who feared for the fate of many widows who lost the opportunity to, say, bake and sell cakes to feed themselves and their children?) Were forbidden to treat doctors. And the Taliban looked sideways at women's education. No wonder there are reports from Afghanistan of the creation of “women's battalions” in the militias that are now fighting against the Taliban.
And how can you forget the destruction of the ancient Buddha statues in Bamiyan Valley, which shocked the whole world?
Or about the Taliban calling on Muslim countries to jihad against Russia in Chechnya? And about sheltering Osama bin Laden, has Afghanistan generally become a “safe haven” and “training” for foreign extremists?
Two decades have passed since the US invasion of Afghanistan. Over the years, the Taliban have had several “obscenities” – a kind of “Taliban 2.0”. Their representatives travel around the world, attend various conferences and meetings, even stop in Moscow (despite the fact that their movement in our country is considered terrorist and forbidden). And some in the world see them almost as a counterweight to another terrorist and also to a ban on the IS group. And in this tune, and in Syria, Islamic groups that have already seen enough Taliban experience have begun to work hard to improve their image. However, this only evokes memories of an old Eastern proverb about a snake that changes its skin but does not change its temperament.
There is a lot of talk today that in the event of a victory in Afghanistan, the Taliban will move to the post-Soviet republics of Central Asia. To be honest, it's doubtful. The Taliban leadership is clearly not stupid and understands very well what such campaigns to the north are full of.
However, there is a worse problem. In 1989, Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan. In 1991, the USSR ceased to exist. And by confusing the terms “after” and “as a result,” radical Islamists have taken “credit” for themselves and declared the disintegration of the Union almost the victory of the Mujahideen in the Afghan war. Many experts believe that this propaganda piece played a significant role in the growth of the phenomenon of Islamist terrorism in the early 1990s around the world.
Now the Americans are leaving Afghanistan, which has poured billions and billions of dollars into the war. They leave with their state-of-the-art weapons, drones and satellites. They leave and cannot defeat the Taliban.
And now there is a danger not only that the Taliban's propaganda campaign will boast of victory over the American superpower, but that the Taliban will become a new role model for extremists in Afghanistan's neighborhood and beyond. But it's really scary – an extremist pandemic could spread around the world and cause a lot of trouble for years to come.