Afghanistan is a landlocked country that depends on its neighbours for economic and political survival. It is a monolithic society, religious wise, with most of its citizens practising Islam. The first encounter I had with Afghanistan growing up was that it was invaded by the the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), during the heat of the cold war. Russia was then practising socialism. Taliban was founded as a resistant force against Russia (foreign) imperialism. They immediately found a willing ally in America which detests the burgeoning international dictatorial tendencies of Russia and needed to checkmate them. America is a capitalist, democratic nation, while Russia is a socialist, dictatorial nation. Their desires to convert the world to their systems led to the cold war. Each wants to win every country to their side. Whereas America uses subtle diplomacy to win allies, Russia uses brute force. Both countries fought proxy wars across all continents of the world.
When Russia invaded Afghanistan, America saw in Taliban a friend and a willing tool to fight Russia. They called them freedom fighters and President Ronald Regan publicly declared Osama Bin Laden, a hero for his people. Every muslim from all over the world was encouraged to flock Afghanistan for a holy war. America, a predominantly christian nation, did not see any-thing wrong in an Islamic nation declaring a holy war against foreign invaders. They were all mujahideens fighting God’s wars. Eventually, USSR was disgraced. Afghanistan was triumphant. Osama Bin Laden fought against a super power nation and disarmed their army Generals. He captured AK 47s from Russian Generals and displayed the weapon by his side as a reminder that he was a giant slayer.
Basking in the euphoria of greatness, he, with other fanatics like him, founded Al-queda to confront every nation that did not share their beliefs. They started dreaming of an Islamic Caliphate which will bring the whole world under one government. Gradually, every powerful nation, which will stand in their way, was an enemy. They found safe haven in Afghanistan.They used Afghanistan as a case study to demonstrate that they can build a virile nation based on religious way of life through sharia. Women must not be seen or heard from. They must be locked up at home. Music is satanic and nobody must listen to it. Every sin is punishable by death. Football pitches were converted to execution grounds. You cannot talk freely of your beliefs and preferences. You cannot convert to any other religion alive. The only choice you have was either to accept that way of life, or accept to die resisting or go into self exile. They started feeding their people with religion and soon, Afghanistan became a massive prison for fanatics, terrorists and jihadists.
America, that used to be their friend, gradually started turning their enemy because their way of life is irreligious. Women are allowed to behave as they wished. Everybody was free to say whatever he or she liked and dress however he or she liked. Children call their elders by their first name. No! such countries must be stopped before they corrupt the whole world.America was titled the great Satan because of its way of life. They gradually started attacking America and their interests. They bombed American embassies around the world and attacked their ship in the sea. They matured into a real threat which culminated in the ferocious attack on 11th September, 2001 in America’s homeland that killed almost 3000 innocent citizens, during the regime of President George Bush. The attack was planned from Afghanistan. Immediately the attack happened, America declared war against Al-queda and any country that harboured them. Afghanistan harboured Al-queda and their leader then, Mullah Omar, refused to give up Osama Bin Laden and his group. He and Al-queda were crushed under the superior power of America. He was later to die in Pakistan and Osama was killed in a US raid against his home at Abbottabad, Pakistan.
However, the Taliban never gave up. They continued fighting from abroad, mainly Pakistan, and from their remnants in Afghanistan. For twenty years, after 9/11, they continued fighting. America, having achieved its objective of dis- lodging Al-queda from Afghanistan and killing their leaders, lost interest in the war. The Taliban, having learnt their lessons that it was wrong to allow terrorists to use their territories to attack other countries, vowed not to repeat such mistakes. Gradually, the Taliban and America started a rapprochement with one another which culminated in the US President, Donald Trump, inviting them to America for talks. America promised them to leave Afghanistan and set a date for their withdrawal. They practically gave them green light to take back their country on the condition that they will not attack US troops based in their country.
Immediately America honoured their agreement to leave Afghanistan, Taliban overran the whole Afghanistan in about 11 days. The Afghanistan armed forces, which were about 300,000 in number, armed with the best of American military hardware, simply melted away in the face of a rag tagged but determined army of Taliban that were about 70,000 in number. It was shocking to see that when it became apparent that Taliban had over- taken the country, most enlightened Afghanistan citizens and women fled from the Taliban. Some were so desperate that they hung on the departing American planes and fell from the planes unto their deaths.
They were prepared to die rather than be under the rule of Taliban. This is very surprising and also very instructive. The same America they called the great Satan is the same America they are struggling to run to their land. The same Taliban they welcomed initially, is the same Taliban they are running away from even if they will die while trying to escape.
The first lesson here is that change is the only constant thing in life. In international relations and politics, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies but permanent interests. When the deeds of Taliban pleased and favoured America against their enemy and rival, Russia, Taliban and Al-Queda adherents were freedom fighters. When Taliban and Al-Queda adherents started attacking America, they became terrorists. No nation should assist another to fight their opponents for the mere purpose of winning an ideological war because what goes round comes round. They may use the same weapon to fight you. Taliban fought Russia, they fought America, 20 years later, they are back in power in Afghanistan. They have inherited about $80b worth of American military weapons and hardwares.
Another lesson is that the state must be separated from religion. There can never be a holy state because God did not create it that way. In international politics, every state is a sinner. I recall President George Bush Snr, confessing to the whole world, after his presidency, that when he was the Director of CIA, they used to deploy the services of money and women to trap people who are the enemies of America. President Joe Biden, recently screamed to the whole world, after a terrorist group, ISIS-K, killed 13 US service men that America does not forgive or forget. That America will hunt down their enemies. These are the qualities of a mean, unforgiving and selfish person. Every nation on earth does it. Even God sanctioned that the State should have monopoly of force. Any religion therefore that allows itself to be united with the state risks being bastardised.
What the terrorists simply do now is to pre- tend that they are the purest breed of their religion in order to win the hearts and minds of the citizens only to unleash their venom on same citizens when they eventually take over power. When they take over power, the next group will come with a harsher brand of their religion and start eliminating the first group in order to win the citizens until anarchy prevails in the country. When Taliban was coming in initially, they were welcomed. But when they started governing and feeding the people with religion not food, people easily got fed up and was relieved whenAmerica took them out. ISIS-K is now trying to introduce even a harsher brand of Islam that will consume the Taliban and Afghanistan. They were all brought up by the Taliban. Time has come for the state to remove religion from the government. Religion is a personal thing and should remain so. Everyone must be allowed to go to heaven the way he chooses.
In Nigeria, when Boko Haram started, people thought they will soon wither away but they continued to wax stronger because they benefited from the brain washing which the religious teachers were giving the people. When they thought they were losing the war to Nigeria armed forces, they paid allegiance to ISIS against their own country. They benefited initially from the allegiance and alliance but today, the same ISIS has declared war against them and is wiping them out gradually. The lesson here is that when you join forces with foreign powers against your own country, when those powers turn against you, there will be no more a safe home for you to run to. Shekau, the Boko Haram leader, committed suicide to avoid being humiliated and beheaded by ISIS, which he voluntarily submitted to for assistance to fight his own country.
Also, when the issue of foreign herders started in Nigeria, they received the sympathy of some of their kinsmen in Nigeria. It did not take long before they descended on the same kinsmen of theirs and are killing, maiming, kidnapping, raping and robbing them. Emirs and prominent Fulani politicians and elites are screaming today that they should be wiped out irrespective of their origin. We must all rise up to defend our country and not court any foreigner against fellow citizens irrespective of our political, religious and ethnic diversities. These are marks of varieties and diversities not differences or difficulties. Even the Taliban of today are begging their people to stop fleeing from them as they have changed. They want to form an inclusive government that will accommodate everyone and every facet of the society. That is gratifying to hear and only time will tell whether they have really changed because it is not the same tactic you use in governing an insurgent group that you use in governing a country. Insurgent groups are made up of brainwashed fighters ready to die, citizens are made up of everybody, including women and children, ready to live. If the Taliban does not modernise, it will soon lose steam and be overthrown by popular uprising.