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Afghans Don't Want bin Laden Around
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ^ | November 4, 2001 | Associated Press

Posted on 11/04/2001 12:19:45 PM PST by WIMom

KABUL, Afghanistan - Four weeks after U.S. bombing began, Afghans interviewed in the capital say they wish Osama bin Laden, the man referred to as ``the guest,'' would pack up and leave.

``Honestly we don't know why he stays here,'' Mohammed Farhat, a Kabul pharmacist, said of the chief suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that killed about 4,500 people in the United States. ``The situation is very bad for the Afghan people, but there is nothing we can do.''

President Bush ordered the air assault Oct. 7 after the ruling Taliban militia repeatedly refused to surrender bin Laden, a Saudi exile who has lived in Afghanistan since 1996.

The Taliban insisted the Americans had offered no proof of bin Laden's role, and said it would be an affront to Islam to hand over a Muslim ``guest'' to a non-Muslim government. Now, they claim the real goal of the U.S.-led campaign is to wage war against Islam and destroy the Islamic regime here.

There are no public opinion surveys in Afghanistan, and it is difficult to assess broad-based opinions in a country where communications are primitive.

However, conversations on the streets, in the shops and in the markets of this beleaguered capital suggest that a growing number of Afghans - worn out by more than 20 years of war and grinding poverty - wish bin Laden would simply leave.

There is little they can do, however, because few would be willing to challenge the rigidly Islamic regime that rules most of Afghanistan.

Bin Laden's Arab allies within his al-Qaida organization were never popular among Afghans. who considered them hostile and overbearing. However, most Afghans seemed to accept their presence, albeit unenthusiastically and grudgingly.

That began to change, however, after the Sept. 11 attacks and the fears of American reprisals. Now, with the bombing continuing into its fifth week, some Afghans are becoming openly critical of his presence.

``There is no life, nothing for the people here,'' Haji Islam Uddin said as he hugged his legs to his chest to guard against the cold. ``Even a piece of bread is not available. Of course Osama should be handed over. If not, then he should go, leave our country.''

Uddin spoke outside a rickety old shop that sells odds and ends - some car parts, bicycle parts, and tools. He laughs at a suggestion that the Afghans themselves should force their Taliban rulers to hand over bin Laden.

``You think this is democracy?'' he asked. ``We don't have democracy in our country. Before it was (Burhanuddin) Rabbani and (Gulbuddin) Hekmatyar who killed us with their rockets,'' referring to the country's rulers before the Taliban took power in 1996.

``And now the Taliban will kill us with their guns,'' he added. ``The people in this country have no tongue with which to speak anymore.''

Nearby a younger man, Ghulam Hayat, said bin Laden has ``sabotaged'' life in Afghanistan by bringing the wrath of the entire world down on his forlorn country.

``Never do we want him to stay,'' Hayat said. He gestures toward his tattered sweater and torn shalwar kameez garments and says: ``We have no power in our hands, only poverty.''

There is no anger in his words, but he wonders aloud at why the U.S. jets attack the capital.

``They should find Osama's bases,'' he says, staring around at the ruins of earlier wars. ``Osama is not here.''

A toothless, elderly man with a giant turban perched on his head strolls by, running his fingers over his Islamic prayer beads. He's curious about the conversation.

``Osama, who is Osama?'' the man, who gave his name only as Ashraf, said. ``What is he doing here?''

Ashraf bellows and complains.

``We never accept that he should stay here. We say he should go. He should leave our country. They should all go,'' he added, referring to bin Laden's al-Qaida fighters, most of whom are Arabs, Pakistanis, Chechens and Uzbeks.

In another neighborhood, Faqir Mohammed, who repairs bikes for a living, complained that bin Laden's followers had brought nothing but trouble to a country that needs international help - not isolation and war.

``Osama should not start his terrorist attacks from here,'' he said. ``Why does he stay here?''

Down the street, Farhat, the pharmacist, accused bin Laden of exploiting Afghanistan for his own purposes. ``He doesn't fight for Afghanistan,'' Farhat said in fluent English. ``He fights for his own purpose.''

Does he believe bin Laden was behind the September attacks in America?

``Some people believe he was, and others say they don't know,'' Farhat mused. ``But people think what happened in the United States was a very bad action. It shouldn't have happened. It was very bad.''

Still, there's little Farhat and other ordinary Afghans can do but hope for an early end to the conflict.

``We just hope it will come to an end soon,'' he said. ``But I think it will go on. We just pray. What else can we do?''


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 11/04/2001 12:19:45 PM PST by WIMom
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To: WIMom
bump
2 posted on 11/04/2001 12:25:16 PM PST by ChadGore
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To: WIMom
The Afghan people, by and large, do not have access to mass media. They don't know the extent of what Bin Laden & Co. have done, but it's starting to sound like they at least know who to blame for what's happening to them now!
3 posted on 11/04/2001 12:38:32 PM PST by NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
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To: WIMom
30 days of bombing ='s we wish he would leave

300 days of bombing ='s we wish_______________???

4 posted on 11/04/2001 12:52:57 PM PST by VRWC_minion
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To: NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
I was reading a thread the other day about how the US is broadcasting radio information. Most Afghans don't have access to radios. Someone suggested we drop small radios and batteries along with the food.

Second on that thread was the messages dropped. Those were made to look like Afghan money. Many Afghans did not know why the US was bombing and were glad to have the information.

5 posted on 11/04/2001 12:53:53 PM PST by WIMom
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To: WIMom
This is why this war is not Vietnam nor the war w/ Russia.
6 posted on 11/04/2001 1:56:14 PM PST by Helms
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To: WIMom
If this is a true story, we can certainly sympathize with the Afghans. Look at how we feel about clintoon, et al, whose "inappropriate" actions caused our country to be hated by so many. And yet Ole Red Nose and his bunch are still hailed as heroes by the Left. I just don't get it!
7 posted on 11/04/2001 2:07:21 PM PST by JudyB1938
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To: Helms
The Afghans are extremely oppressed by the Taliban, so much that they are just trying to survive day-to-day.
8 posted on 11/04/2001 2:28:15 PM PST by WIMom
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To: WIMom
The Taliban is not an Islamic regime. It is not even anything like a real government. It is an occupation force, much like the Nazis who moved into the neighboring countries around Germany in the early part of World War II, and simply expropriated what they wanted from the inhabitants.
9 posted on 11/04/2001 2:54:10 PM PST by alloysteel
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To: WIMom
It would make sense that they don't really want this filthy rich Arab who never did anything for Afghanistan using them as his human shields for an act he committed not they. Bin Laden doesn't care how many Afghan children are injured or killed to save his skin and in spite of all his inherited millions, he never built up the country but expects them to die protecting him.
10 posted on 11/04/2001 3:08:31 PM PST by FITZ
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To: WIMom
``And now the Taliban will kill us with their guns,'' he added.
"The people in this country have no tongue with which to speak anymore.'"


1. Hold on. Help is on the way. G-d (or Allah, if you like) willing, this mess
in Afghanistan will be done by next summer.

2. Don't worry about your tongue or speaking.
We'll do the job of speaking softly for you while swinging the biggest sticks
short of nuclear bombs!
11 posted on 11/04/2001 3:20:49 PM PST by VOA
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To: FITZ
I saw a documentary on Afganistan by MSNBC explaining all the wars and devastation that country has endured. Those poor people are caught in the middle. It was an eye opener. It's a wonder there are any Afgans left. I hope we can get rid of bin Laden and let those people finally live in peace.
12 posted on 11/04/2001 3:21:48 PM PST by pattycake
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To: alloysteel
"The Taliban is not an Islamic regime. It is not even anything like a real government. It is an occupation force, much like the Nazis who moved into the neighboring countries around Germany in the early part of World War II, and simply expropriated what they wanted from the inhabitants."

Ah, similar to the liberal left!

13 posted on 11/04/2001 3:22:37 PM PST by WIMom
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To: pattycake
This is a comment I wrote on another thread, that I am not altering, so, please do not think the comments are intended for you. Use the information to help you learn more about what the taliban is doing. Also, go to the CNN site I have linked here to read more about it.

99% of people who post on this forum do have a concept. In Afghanistan, men are being tortured, hung, and skinned alive, women are being executed in a football stadium at point blank range, 1 in 4 children die by age 5. All in the name of some whacked out fundamentalist religious zealot and his band of satanical gouls. Evil is to good for these monsters. This is the devil himself.

Ordinary people were at an extraordinary building. The terrorists did not attack a small town or city, or a McDonalds or a Blockbuster. The WTC and Pentagon were attacked because they represent capitalism (and possibly the White House and Capital), and the guarntee of high exposure. Similar to anthrax, news readers and congress will have a better chance of making international headlines than me. If we were not at war with these terrorists, if we did not retaliate, if we gave in to the peaceniks, if Gore was in charge, then we would have big problem. And I thank God every day that George W. Bush is our leader.

We all have seen the pictures of people hanging out of the WTC, the images of ground zero. It's appalling, the death and destruction, but we need to destroy the b@stards and their regimes, those who committed these crimes, they will be eliminated.

I do understand, more than you will ever know.

I would highly recommend all Americans watch "Beneath the Veil" on CNN. It is something you will never forget. It will be engraved in my mind forever. It is an experience similar to the first time you learned about what Hitler and Stalin did to humans in WWII. But, fair warning, it is very graphic and very disturbing.

President Bush refers the taliban as evil, I believe he was being kind. The taliban are devils, straight from he!!. You will never be able to forget. This is what we are fighting for, to keep our freedom and our liberty.

CNN link:

Beneath the Veil, Women in Afghanistan, click on 'story'

Here is the beginning text from the web site:

Ever since the Taliban took control of most of Afghanistan in 1996, the group has imposed its harsh version of Islamic law on the country. In "Beneath the Veil," journalist Saira Shah traveled to Afghanistan to see the effects of the Taliban's rule on her father's homeland.

She discovered public executions, allegations of human rights violations like massacres and torture, and a place where women are forced to beg because they are prevented from working. But she also found that the first voices of protest come from the most repressed, including an opposition group that uses hidden cameras to film the executions.

The FR link is:

Beneath the Veil, Women in Afghanistan


14 posted on 11/04/2001 3:43:12 PM PST by WIMom
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