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[ English Section ] [ Feedback ] Published in issue #451 on 11 December 2000*
The US must help Masood now, or face consequences laterBy Yama Jaweid Shamreiz
During Afghanistan's jihad against the Soviet Union, Washington helped to create Gulbudin Hekmatyar and his extremist Hizb-e Islami party by funneling to him most of the aid. In the jihad, Hekmatyar was more concerned with out maneuvering other mujahideen groups than with fighting the Red Army. Using weaponry that he had stockpiled instead of firing at the Soviets, and supplied with even more ammunition from Washington's terrorist-State friend, Pakistan, he proceeded to destroy the Afghan capital, Kabul. It was only when Hekmatyar was found to be collaborating with Arab terrorist organizations that targeted American interests that the US administration owned up to its mistake of creating this monster. (A mistake, incidentally, that amounted to tens of thousands of martyred and maimed Afghans, the demolition of the historic capital, and the condemnation of Afghanistan to years upon years of war.) After that, Washington gave tacit support to Islamabad's new enterprise, the Taliban militia -- a charge also levied by the US Congress on the Clinton administration. This indirect abetment of the Taliban was fulfilled through teamwork between US and international oil companies, US-allied Arab states, and mainly Pakistan's military establishment, which has been largely built-up by the US in recent decades. However, after years of "bargaining" with the Taliban for Osama bin Laden's extradition, Washington seems to have acknowledged its mistake. (This time, their mistake cost many more tens of thousands of deaths and injuries, but it also included ethnic cleansing, scorched earth, gender apartheid, cultural devastation, and the near loss of Afghanistan's sovereignty and national identity.) So, what is the current situation and what are the options open to the US administration? Currently, the Taliban occupy some 80-90% of the territory. And they're trying hard to eliminate the last man standing against their evil program. This man is Ahmad Shah Masood, victor of Afghanistan's jihad against the Soviets. Against all odds -- fighting an enemy that's less a militia and more a multinational conglomerate of extremists and terrorists, backed by international businesses and various governments -- he's managed to gather around himself a national resistance force that is comprised of all of Afghanistan's ethnic groups. Moreover, among other noble principles, Masood is committed to free elections and the preservation of human rights, including women's rights. And while he's not the only Afghan leader that espouses these principles, he is the only one who can deliver them. If Masood and the national resistance that he commands is defeated, then it is not just Afghanistan that will suffer the dire consequences. The entire region will undergo Talibanisation -- an affliction that incites ethnic strife, extremism, drug production, worldwide terrorism and many more dangers. The US would then have to expend a lot of resources -- including human -- to counter or at least contain these dangers. One option for the US is to do nothing and hope for the best -- but, that is a fool's paradise. There is, however, another option open to the US, one that can avert the catastrophe of Talibanisation. Washington must lend aid to Masood, in particular, financial support. Masood is the only one capable of overmastering the Taliban militia. He's proven his metal -- first against the Red Army, and now just by surviving until this day, still enjoying popular support. The US shouldn't think twice before taking this decision, or it will be too late -- and this time, they will truly and deeply regret it, because the mistake will cause death and destruction beyond the borders of Afghanistan. Immediate US support for Masood would change the course of history away from Talibanisation. The Cole Bombing...Moving Beyond "The Usual Suspects"
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For
years, the US administration has been on the wrong side in
Afghanistan.