Taliban's Truth About Afghan Government

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright October 14, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

            Not so secret negotiations between President Hamid Karzai’s Afghan government and his so-called Taliban enemy have been going forward with U.S. blessings.  When former President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom Oct. 7, 2001 in the wake of Sspt. 11, U.S. forces toppled the Taliban three weeks later, Nov. 15, 2001.  While Bush deserves credit for one of the great military operations in U.S. history, the U.S. government miscalculated installing Karzai Dec. 22, 2001 as acting president, eventually anointing himself permanent Dec. 7, 2004.  Karzai’s unexpected survival over the last nine years proves his close personal and family ties with the Taliban from day one.  It’s no accident that Karzai’s Pashtun roots are deeply tied to the Kandahar, the exact place where fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar started the movement in the early ‘90s.

            Emergence of the Taliban coincided with the end of Soviet rule in Afghanistan Feb. 15, 1989, a collaborative effort of a CIA sponsored insurgency with the help of Osama bin Laden, now U.S. Enemy No. 1.  Bin Laden’s long involvement with the CIA is well documented, beginning shortly after Kabul fell to the Soviets Dec. 27, 1979—a busy year when you consider it occurred with the fall of Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi Feb. 11, 1979 from Iran and rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei’s Islamic Revolution.  While Khomenei’s Islamic Revolution was a Shiite event, Omar and his Sunni disciples wished to radicalize Afghanistan.  Karzai’s family has deep roots as do Omar’s tribe in Afghan’s Pashtun  Kandahar region.  New word of Karzai actively involved in deal-making with the Taliban should surprise no one, considering the State Department  knows the history.

            When U.S. Centom Commander Gen. David Petraeus took over control of Afghan War from Gen. Stanley McChyrstal July 4, 2010, it was clear he’d implement the same counterinsurgency strategy that worked in Iraq, the so-called Bush “troop surge.”  Petraeus fully endorses attempts to payoff Taliban leaders as they did tribal elders in Iraq to combat al-Qaeda and insurgent influence.  Despite suggestions by Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that al-Qadia had a longstanding foothold in Iraq, the Taliban worked closely with Bin Laden’s ragtag group of mujahedeen holy warriors that fought Soviet occupation.  Bin Laden’s real rage against the U.S. had little to do with support for Israel, and everything to do with his cutoff by the CIA.  He’s been on a rampage against the U.S. since losing his CIA contract in 1989.

            Karzai’s recent discussions with the Taliban raise hopes that some kind of peace deal could be worked out.  “One of the principles we have established with President Hamid Karzai is transparency with one another as this process goes forward so we know what they are doing, they know what they are doing and they understand what our requirements are,” Gates told reporters, admitting Karazi has close tribal ties with his Taliban friends and family.  It’s no accident that only 1,329 U.S. soldiers have lost their lives in nearly 9 years of combat, compared to 14,453 Soviets killed during the same time frame.  Despite recent increases in U.S. casualties, the relatively low level suggests the Taliban finds it difficult to attack their own family and friends in the Karzai government.  Without CIA help funding the insurgency, the Taliban have few resources to fight U.S. occupation.

              While outright peace is unlikely with the Taliban, it’s leadership is looking for a face-saving way out the war. With Mullah Mohammed Omar long gone, the Taliban movement is left regional leaders, fighting U.S. and coalition forces without any real purpose.  “And frankly, we share with them what we think will be in their own best interest as the process goes along,” said Gates, referring to parallel U.S. interests of ending the conflict.  Gates knows that the U.S. war against terror stemming from Bin Laden’s Sept. 11 attacks was not primarily directed toward the Taliban.  Omar pushed U.S. military action after Sept. 11, refusing to handover Bin Laden.  While the U.S. deplored the Taliban’s backward ways and despicable treatment of women, the U.S. beef was with Bin Laden.  Today’s Afghan War no longer targets Bin Laden, who’s long since disappeared into Pakistan.

            U.S. support for Karzai’s secret dealings with the Taliban come with mixed blessings.  More than ever, White House officials see Karzai’s close ties with his ancestral past, refusing to commit all-out war against his family and friends.  “I see no evidence that makes the case that this is a turning point,” said Sephen Biddle, a defense expert with the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations.  “We know very little about what’s being said and even less about whether anybody can deliver on what they’re saying,” referring to any permanent ceasefire.  Whether U.S. officials admit it or not, Karzai has incestuous ties with the Kandahar-based Taliban where his half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, runs a lucrative opium-trading business.  Whatever the skepticism about Karzai’s secret talks with the Taliban, the U.S. shouldn’t forget his loyalty and ties to his Pashtun roots in Kandahar.    

About the Author  

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.