The reason the Taliban kills young women and rules like autocratic religious fascist isn't America.

[Kurska]

The reason is their barbaric 10th century throwback of a interpretation of their religion. (Most Muslims having as much in common with these people as we do with the Phelps bunch).

The reason they are ABLE TO DO IT, is because we helped topple the soviet-secular government in favor of these same brutes.

My point being that while our fuck up brought them to power, it's not the reason they do the terrible things they do. Our historical woes (Or current mistakes if you dead set on viewing the Afghanistan war that way), neither excuse nor exonerate the sort of wholesale dehumanizing oppression the Taliban and groups like it perform. Essentially, that even if you view America's war in a negative light, you do the women of Afghanistan no service by excusing or even ignoring the truly terrible things the Taliban does every day.

The big lesson from this, whether we win on the battlefield or not, is that we need to safeguard our society from the very same sort religious nutballs as the taliban that operate in america. They may march behind a cross instead of banners with the holy words of Allah on them, but they are no less dangerous. After all, do you really think the women of Afghanistan in the 80's thought they would be where they are now? Not that I'm criticizing all religion or calling it dangerous, but the brand that the taliban practices, and it seems like a minority of americans would be willing to accept, is the real enemy we need to fight over there AND over here.

Just needed to say my peace.

[eridani]

1. The tradtional form of Islam in Afghanistan was Sufism

The Wahabi craziness was imported from Saudi Arabia via Pakistan and paid for in part with our tax dollars.

[Kurska]

2. We payed anybody who could defeat the soviet's and their puppet government.

That was of course our mistake and we are still paying for that mistake.

[JonQ]

12. They weren't exactly tolerant before that

King Amanullah tried to implement some modern reforms in the 30s (co-ed education, doing away with the veil, etc) and was deposed by force because those angered the local religious leaders.

We certainly didn't help, but afghanstan has a long history of not exactly treating women well.

[stuball111]

3. And well said

I remember reading an article way back in the 70's about religion and the beginnings of fundamentalism in American christian churches. and it all began with the "Is God Dead" theme. The 60's and 70's brought bout many changes, one of which was to open the door to alternative religions, what with the Beatles and their gurus and Buddhism and all. What that did was to let people see that there was forms of spirituality that didn't cost a lot, allowed more freedom, and could be done at home, by ones self and a few books, in a not for profit way. ( I see some churches around that have GOT to cost millions to build and on acres and acres of prime real estate) this reduced the amount that was dropped into the collection plate, and thus, was causing a financial crisis in organized religion. So the answer was to "turn up the heat" as it were, and get a bit more radical at the ol pulpit! Hellfire and brimstone made a comeback, and the old "scare them back into the pews with hell, satan and purgatory" became the tactics to get the coffers back up to snuff. Well it worked so well, that we now have the religious right buying guns and shooting doctors, and calling the President of their once reverent and holy country a Muslim and a baby killer, and calling his children whores and ghetto trash. Yer damn rights they are dangerous! Go to Free Republic and read some of their blogs! It's some scary shit brother! They way they are talking over there, ironically they are about to start Charlie Manson's race war! I read one blog that talked about "Knocking off the Liberals" and whether they had enough guns to outgun us, and they decided they did except they forgot to include the street gangs that were obviously heavily armed as well! It sounds like pre-Civil War banter, and pre war Germany's Goebbels talking. And they way they sound, just like in Hitlers day, all it will take is a bunch of those nuts to start shooting, and it'll snowball like hell! And you are right, just about every one of those nutballs make a reference to the cross, and their Christian beliefs. Christianity in its true form is just fine, but like the Taliban and other sects of the Muslim faith, which is also OK unless transformed by nutballs, into something grotesque, this minority has become so anti everything, including its own country and fellow citizens, and their rights, that it is truly getting freaky out there!

[Kurska]

4. Well said to you too!

My only hope is that those sorts of churches eventually radicalise themselves into oblivion like the Southern baptist chrurch is doing.

[Bobbieo]

5. If the Taliban keeps killing off Taliban women, pretty soon no more Taliban!

[get the red out]

6. Awesome post!!!

You connected it well, and I have been screaming this at people for several years now only to have them look at me like I need serious medication. Just connect the dots! What we see in US fundy Christianity is different from the Taliban in their dress code and after that all that separates them are our secular laws and law enforcement.

The OP was on target as well. Bad mistake for the world, the US supporting the Taliban against the Soviet Union. This country did such ignorance during the cold war the evil communists. Now we deal with a much worse evil we helped unleash.

[get the red out]

7. They are a virus

But we unleashed the virus. And the extremism we see there and here is extremely dangerous.

[yodermon]

8. You understate the role of the CIA in fomenting radical islam in central Asia.

and has been *continually exacerbating it*, illegally, for decades.

http://letsibeledmondsspeak.blogspot.com/2008/07/central-asia-islamization-cocktail.html
http://letsibeledmondsspeak.blogspot.com/2008/07/court-documents-shed-light-on-cia.html

[readmoreoften]

10. Thank you. /nt

[mmonk]

9. We brought them to power because despite their brutality,

we were concerned over the trans Caspian pipeline and our control for economic hegemony over Central Asia instead of Russia. It wasn't until they wanted an exhorbitant price for the pipeline lease that we decided they no longer served our purpose (this preceeded their refusal to give up Bin Laden).

[readmoreoften]

11. The Taliban is a purely ethnic Pashtun organization. They have no support outside the Pashtun.

And the Taliban in Pakistan is a wholly different organization than the one in Afghanistan.