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.
Actually, I prefer Diet Coke, but I think we Americans can accommodate their death wish. With pleasure.
Yeah, whatever. I was wondering when the mystical nonsense being bandied about regarding these people would ratchet up a notch into fairy-tale territory. Next we'll be hearing all about how their midichlorian blood count is off the charts....
We are not afraid of death. The Americans love Pepsi Cola, we love death."
Hmmm. Seems like there should be some way to reconcile these two respective loves and make both sides happy. Although not completely. I happen to prefer Coke to Pepsi....
That's it... I want my country back! Hubby called me slightly to the right of Gengis Kahn tonight at dinner. I say round 'em up-ship 'em out! Too bad if we hurt feelings of the good ME's.. Too bad for them. These people ARE WACK JOBS.. worse than Hitler. You want ethnic cleansing? You got it. LET'S ROLL!
Well, we do, and we love life, our fighting men could get a better salary doing anything else, they love freedom, they fight for an ideal, they have everything to lose.
This is why we will win.
Now, Taliban is alone, I suppose (except some refugees from Pakistan). It'll be easier to defeat them sooner or later - maybe with help of Afghan Northern Alliance.
"Come get some..." -- Ash, "Army of Darkness"
So drown the little creep in a cask of Pepsi. Then he can decide which he likes best.
Our side, once it wins its current primary objective, the removal of bin Laden; will gradually lose interest barring further attacks inside our borders. Our side will miss our homes and families, while they are fighting on their doorsteps to protect theirs. I am sorry to say that this really is a no win situation for us. All out war can do nothing for our side.
As an alternative, now that we know who, and have a pretty good idea as to where they are, a few single well placed shots would solve a lot of problems. Drop one bad guy here, another there, over a period of time and without any evidence to tie us to it. Our country expresses its sympathy for the loss of their leaders, obviously resulting from an unknown terrorist organization. "Oh when will it ever stop" we will lament, as we plan on the next event.
This seems to disappoint some people.
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