Posted on 12/25/2005 6:11:24 PM PST by ncountylee
After we had talked about all manner of jihadists for an hour — jihadists in Kashmir attacking India, jihadists in Afghanistan attacking America and today jihadists in Pakistan attempting to kill President Pervez Musharraf — I asked the high American official, “don’t you feel that you spend all your time just picking up the pieces for the wrongheaded policies when the West supported the jihadists as a tool against the Soviet presence in Afghanistan?” He sighed, nodded and replied, “That’s right”.
Driving away from that conversation I was convinced more than ever that the various terrorist movements unleashed in this corner of the world over the last twenty years have their origins in the policies of Jimmy Carter, that most pacific of all postwar American presidents who, prodded by his National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, decided to undermine and repel the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan of Christmas Day, 1979, by any means necessary, including the funding, training and arming of militants who burned with anti-communist zealotry much as they burn against the Western or Indian “infidel” today.
Indeed, later evidence provided by Brzezinski seems to demonstrate that the US actually wanted the Soviet Army to invade Afghanistan. “We did not push the Russians into invading”, he is quoted as saying in recent article in Lahore’s Daily Times, “we knowingly increased the probability that they would. The secret operation was an excellent idea. The effect was to draw the Russians into the Afghan trap.”
(Excerpt) Read more at arabnews.com ...
Thank you for the good analyses. It is important that we learn more. One thing to come out of the changing circumstances and confusion is good. Asia is not ruled as an empire from any single country.
The US didn't "make" the Talibs, however, the CIA did fund them indirectly through the Pakis -- the Pakis led the CIA like a farmer leads a bull -- with a ring through the nose. The Pakis created teh Talibs to wrest control of Afghanistan, they also funded and helped the growth of alQ.
"In the Cold War context, it made perfect sense to support the mujahideen in Afghanistan at the time. I think it is mite too partisan to blame Carter for our doing it then. Conservatives at the time, I believe, supported a response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Let's not rewrite history for partisan purposes to suit our current circumstances. That is more a trick of the Left."
You are exactly right. It didn't matter whether Carter or some other president was in power the Mujahideen were supplied with US stinger missles that effectively eliminated the ability of the Russians to engage in helicopter and tank operations in the countryside.
They were effectively imprisoned in Kabul.
Plus the Mujahideen were a coalition or Saudis, Pashtan and Northern Alliance forces, all with differenct agendas.
Once the Russians retreated the whole mess got worse.
The Talibs weren't Arabs. The problem is NOT an ethnic group (Arabs), the problem isISlam.
Does this guy really think LESS Afghans would have died if we hadn't helped arm the guys fighting the Soviets?
.......and in MOST cases, correct!
The writer has connected everything to everything based on preposterous, incoherent and highly convoluted logic to come to the conclusion that it was the US that forced the Soviets to invaded Afghanistan, it was the US that created the Al Quaida in Afghanistan and the US responsible for nuclearisation of Pakistan, Iran, NK and Libya, the US responsible for Indo-Pak conflicts, US responsible for Islamisation of Pakistan.....US responsible for Cambodia, Vietnam, Cambodia....and the list goes on....
"If only the Soviets had been left alone....."
Yeah right! If only the the American's had stayed away, the world would have been such a beautiful place.....
The Arabs and other Muslims would have never taken up terrorism....
Pakistan, Iran, NK and Libya would never have considered going nuclear...
China would never have given those countries nuclear technologies.....
Saudis would never have spent billions of dollars around to fund Islamic terrorism and spread the wahabbist ideology....
Pakis would never had waged a jihad against India and Kashmir problem would have been solved.....
The Arabs would have never attacked Israel.....
Muslim would never have massacred innocent non-Muslims in places like Thailand, India, Bali, Philippines, Bangladesh, Russia, Israel.....
(/Sarc)
As with all these writers from the Muslim world, they draw their conclusion first, which is always "the West (i.e US) is responsible", and then they go on to support thier theory on some loose and obscure premises.
"If only the US would leave us all alone...so we can continue Mohammed's dream of world domination."
That's what they are really talking about when you cut away all of the platitudes and smoke screens. Whether the US was facing off against the Russians, China, or now their "radical" brothers...who are nothing more than the true outward expression of most of their aspirations...the issue is that the US stands in the way.
True, we didn't support the Northern Alliance. Why would we?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.