Posted on 09/23/2001 5:53:31 PM PDT by vrwc54
THE garish posters were emblazoned with AK-47 assault rifles and the slogan "Jihad is our existence", exactly matching the mood of the intense, bearded figures seated beneath them.The veteran fighters from Afghanistan's Mujahideen exchanged memories of their victorious war against the former Soviet Union, fought between 1979 and 1989, with delight. On one point, they were adamant - any American soldier entering Afghanistan would share the fate of the Soviet army and almost every other invading force since Alexander the Great.
Mountain tribes, who have the art of warfare in their blood, would use guerrilla tactics against the Americans with the same devastating effect. Maulana Inyadullah, who began fighting the Soviet invasion in 1982 at the age of 16, declared that his fellow Afghans relish the prospect of an American attack.
"War is our best hobby. The sound of guns firing is like music for us. We cannot live without war. We have no other way except jihad," he said.
Veterans of Afghanistan's war against the Soviet Union, when the Mujahideen fought the invaders with large-scale American backing, can be found on any street corner in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. The Afghan frontier is barely 30 miles away and there are hundreds of thousands of refugees in the city.
Yet the most experienced fighters are now engaged in other tasks. Mr Inyadullah and his colleagues are based in the office of one of Pakistan's main Muslim fundamentalist parties. By their own account, they are training guerrillas for the war inside Indian controlled Kashmir. What they call "India's terrorism" ranks alongside America in their pantheon of evil.
But if any American troops set foot in Afghanistan, they will return to their homeland and join a new jihad against the latest foreign invader. They view their possible opponent with genial contempt.
Mr Inyadullah, 35, said: "The Americans would be easier to defeat than the Russians. The Americans lead lavish lives and they are afraid of death. We are not afraid of death. The Americans love Pepsi Cola, we love death."
By contrast, the former fighters had a wary respect for Russian soldiers, especially those from the Spetsnaz special forces. Ali Amjud, 40, paid tribute to the prowess of the invaders he had fought from the first to the last day of the 10 year conflict. "The Russians were very brave and they were used to mountain warfare. The Spetsnaz were very dangerous, they climbed mountains like goats."
On one occasion, Mr Amjud awoke to find his mountainside encampment under night attack from a Spetsnaz force. He escaped after six hours of hand to hand fighting. A few months later, when his group ambushed a Soviet armoured column in the Noor Pass, he was hit by splinters from a tank shell and seriously wounded.
Yet Mr Amjud never had any doubts about final victory. "All the weapons, training and technology of the Russians gave way because they had no purpose in life. They only fought for a salary. We fought for the cause of Islam, because Allah commanded us.
"We embraced death, we were willing to be martyrs," he said. Both Mr Amjud and Mr Inyadullah fought with Hezb-e-Islam, a fundamentalist faction of the Mujahideen led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. After the Russians were driven out in 1989, they left Afghanistan to spread the message of jihad, with numerous other veterans.
With messianic zeal, they proclaim that the greatest terrorists in the world are the twin forces of Judaism and America. Yet they are anxious to make a good impression on a isitor. After talking about warfare with relish and railing against the evils of the West, they present a more moderate face.
"We never fight states or religions," said Mr Inyadullah. "We only fight evil. Christians are the closest people to Muslims and the Koran says they are noble people. The American people are Christians and we have nothing against them. It is only their government we fight."
Yet the blazing rhetoric and the posters that glorify slaughter make a deeper impression than the occasional lapse into reassuring words.
Mark my words - we need to use weapons of mass destruction to defeat the enemy. And sooner, rather than later.
And American troops have something to fight for: justice for the 7000 killed 9/11.
Remember, America was founded in a war which the battle cry was "Give me Liberty, or give me death"
Nobody in Ashcanistan, apparently.
Maybe they're just 'Coke Classic' guys. Like me.;^)
Good because they are about to get their wish!!
The Taliban may be full of themselves after dispatching the Soviet Union, (with big-time aid from the USA), but like those before them, they, too will be crushed.
You traitorous #!&*%$@* lying scum!!! How dare you regurgitate enemy propaganda??? All true-blooded Americans love Coca-Cola, and we spit on the Pepsi infidels!!!!!!!
You from Atlanta, too?
Well Ahmed, It's your lucky day... You're about to get all you can handle.
Next we'll use the secret "Budwine" insertion.
Let's nuke'em then!! The sooner the better. Sooner rather than later.
Our boys will not be fighting for a salary - They will fighting to avenge the death of seven thousand of their fellow citizens. The Afghans are fighting to defend an unruly houseguest who has outworn his welcome.
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