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The Unwelcome Guests
During the Russian war in Afghanistan (1979-92, if you
count the three years the pro-Russian government hung on after the Russians
left), many outsiders came to the aid of the Afghans. The most numerous were
Arabs (led by very religious Saudi Arabians) who arrived to join the “Jihad”
against the Godless communists (Russians). There were also Americans, in the
form of CIA people to provide weapons (mostly Russian made), equipment
(especially things like radios, but also pack animals) and training (on how to
use the radios.) The CIA didn’t have to show the Afghan’s how to use weapons
(except for the Stinger anti-aircraft missiles) or fight (Afghan’s had their own
tactics that worked quite well.) Other Americans came to supervise the vast aid
program for the millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistani camps. When the
Russians left, so did most of the Americans (except for the aid workers, much of
the aid to Afghan refugees is still paid for by America.) Many of the
Arab volunteers also stayed, and more continued to arrive. This is where Afghans
began to call the foreign volunteers "the Arabs." Not all the foreign volunteers
were Arabs, but most of them were. And the most active, prominent and most
religious of the foreign volunteers were Arab, usually Saudi Arabian or
Egyptian. The Arabs didn’t just fight, they also set up religious schools and
training camps. The camps taught military skills, they also gave instruction on
how to overthrow an unwanted government. This arose because the Afghanistan war
was seen as a battle between Islam and infidels. Many in the West missed this
shift, as Westerners thought the battle was simply between Afghan's trying to
liberate their nation from Russian invaders. It was that early on, but evolved
into a clash of cultures. Moreover, Afghanistan was never a country, but
rather a collection of tribes and cities in a region called Afghanistan. The
Russians quickly picked up on this, buying off some of the tribes while going
after those that appeared to be the most enthusiastic fighters. The Russian
approach was to bomb the targeted tribes, burn their fields and destroy their
herds. Lacking food and shelter, these people fled to Pakistan or Iran. These
refugee camps proved to be the downfall of the Russians. Unwilling to spread the
war to Pakistan and Iran by bombing the camps. The most warlike refugees set up
operations in Pakistan (Iran was at war with Iraq during the 1980s, and this
limited the movement and activities of Arabs in the Iranian camps.) Aid agencies
provided food, shelter and medical care, but the refugees had no work. The men
would periodically go into Afghanistan to fight the Russians. Those that
survived came back to the camps, rested up for a few weeks or months, and then
went off to fight again. Life in the camps was boring. For the first
time, many Afghans were exposed to the delights (or evils) of Western culture.
Western films (VCR tapes or projected in makeshift movie theaters) were
available. About half the Afghans were literate, and there was printed material
directed the Pushtun population living in Pakistan. It was a whole new world.
And then religious fundamentalists from Saudi Arabia entered the camps and began
to preach the evils of Western influences and the need for more religion. These
men were largely members of the Saudi Arabian Wahabi sect, a two century old
version of Islam that stressed strict adherence to certain interpretations of
the Koran (many restrictions on women and "foreign influences.") The Wahabi also
set up religious schools in the camps. Parents appreciated this, as it kept the
kids out of mischief and away from the growing number of criminals operating in
the camps. The men saw advantages to the Wahabi approach, as it kept their wives
safe while the lads were off fighting. When the pro-Russian government
fell in 1992, it was thought that the refugees would go home. But the various
Afghan factions fell to fighting each other. Some of these factions were more
influenced by the Wahabi's than others. But none of the factions was strong
enough to win, as when one group seemed to be gaining an edge, the others would
gang up. Meanwhile, with the Russians gone, Afghanistan was full of armed men
and no law and order. It was chaos, with rape and pillage common. The fighting
went on and on until the Wahabi's in the refugee camps began to organize
fighting groups from among the students (teenage and early 20s) in the camps.
This was the Taliban (from the word for student; "Talib"). At first, it
appeared that the Taliban were just another faction in the new Afghan civil war.
But several important points were missed. First, the Talib were well behaved and
incorruptible. They brought a degree of law and order the people of Afghan had
not seen since the late 1970s. This was very popular and caused many Afghans to
join the Taliban. Second, many of the Taliban were actually Arabs, who had
become disgusted with the factional fighting and disorder within Afghanistan.
These foreigners left the factions they had fought with and joined the new
Taliban units. About the same time (1993) Osama Bin Laden returned to
Afghanistan (having been forced to flee his native Saudi Arabia for plotting to
overthrow the government.) Bin Laden, himself a wealthy man and from one of the
best connected families in Saudi Arabia, promptly began raising money for the
Afghan refugees in Pakistan. This bought all sorts of things for the pro-Wahabi
refugees, including weapons. Bin Laden supported the conservative Wahabi view of
life and became very vocal in denouncing corrupt governments in Moslem nations.
The then current chaotic civil war in Afghanistan was denounced as one of those
situations that righteous Moslems must deal with. By 1996, the Wahabi
trained and Bin Laden financed Taliban had defeated all but one of the factions,
and occupied most of Afghanistan. The Taliban were actually led by Afghans from
Kandahar (in southern Afghanistan), but many of the fighters and key advisers
and technical experts were foreigners; "the Arabs." The Taliban quickly revealed
themselves to be religious zealots of unflinching adherence to a very rigid
interpretation of Islam. They were also hostile to the "corrupt" governments of
most Islamic nations. Only three nations recognized the Taliban as the
legitimate government of Afghanistan (Saudi Arabia; because of the Wahabi
connection, United Arab Emirates; because is seemed a good move and Pakistan;
because they thought they could use the Taliban to keep the peace in neighboring
Afghanistan.) Initially, the Taliban brought law and order, which was much
appreciated by all Afghans. Taliban fighters killed bandits who refused to
surrender and punished those they did catch. Many weapons were collected from
the population (but not all of them, as many more were hidden). The Taliban said
they would rule for two years, in order to bring peace, and then allow the
people to choose their own government. One reason the Taliban remain in
power is because non-Pushtun tribes to the north continued to resist. Moreover,
many tribes, particularly the Dari (Iranian) speaking ones in the west, did not
join the Taliban enthusiastically. Heavily armed drug gangs in the west
continued to operate, and neither the Iranian police (and army) or the Taliban
could eliminate this drug traffic. One reason for the Taliban forbidding the
growing of drug crops two years ago was to weaken the drug gangs. So, in effect,
the Taliban's war on disorder continues. The harsh form of Islam enforced by the
Wahabi influenced Taliban is increasingly unpopular among the Pushtun tribes.
For many of these people, their own traditions (which are often nearly as severe
as what the Taliban wants) are dear to them and they resent outsiders forcing
them to do otherwise. But Afghans note that that strongest Taliban
military units are largely composed of "Arabs" (a category that includes other
foreigners like Chechens, Pakistanis, Turks, Bosnians and so on). Resistance to
the Taliban brings on an intimidating visit by heavily armed "Arabs." What does
worry the Taliban is the ancient Afghan resistance to foreigners. Even when
outsiders bring welcome things, like law and order, they are not appreciated if
they overstay their welcome. Afghans know that Bin Laden and the "Arabs"
also brought terrorist training camps. No other nation was as safe for Islamic
terrorists as Afghanistan and they swarmed in from all over the world. Afghans
were also recruited for the cause of world terrorism and Islamic revolution. Now
Afghans see their country threatened with invasion by Islamic and infidel
nations, all because of the "Arabs" and their terrorist cause. The Taliban know
they are losing popular support because of this, and America hopes to exploit
the hostile Afghan attitude towards their unwelcome guests to crush the Bin
Laden terrorist organization in Afghanistan.
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