Ever since Obama admitted the US was not winning in Afghanistan and broached the possibility of reaching out to the “moderate” Taliban, there has been a flurry of responses weighing in his odds on both sides. Obama bases his approach on the apparent success of peeling away the moderates from the extremists in Iraq. I say apparent because his assumption ignores the ethnic cleansing of Shias which led to “peace” in the much touted Anbar province [where the surge "worked"] as well as the accelerated ethnic cleansing of Sunnis which took place in Baghdad. In the words of Tom Ricks, military reporter: “And yes, another reason Baghdad is quieter is that ethnic cleansing has been completed in much of the city.”
Then there was the fake sheik who represented the “moderate” elements and the duplicity of the preceding administration, which was talking to dead people while fighting fictitious enemies. Nevertheless, the novel notion of a dialogue to achieve resolution cannot be underscored enough. The UN Envoy to Afghanistan is open to the idea but recommends talking to all the Taliban as it is his opinion that a fragmented approach will fail. This validates Rory Stewarts articulate presentation of the reasons why the Iraq approach is doomed to fail in Afghanistan: “The Taleban… do not have mass movements behind them. When we talk about driving the Taleban to the table, we forget that these groups are more insubstantial and fragmented than we acknowledge. The Kabul Government lacks political depth or legitimacy; the Taleban is elusive…”
Afghan opposition leaders, analysts and writers have also expressed their skepticism, maintaining that as long as Karzai’s government appears weak and ineffective, such approaches would lead nowhere
“I don’t know of a single peace process that has been successfully negotiated from a position of weakness or stalemate.”-Ashraf Ghani, former finance minister
“Obama’s comment resemble a dream more than reality,” said Waheed Mozhdah, an analyst who has written a book on the Taliban.
“Where are the so-called moderate Taliban? Who are the moderate Taliban?” asked Mozhdah, who was an official in both the Taliban and the Karzai governments.
Gen. David Petraeus, inflated by his “success” in Iraq would nevertheless like to apply the same strategy in Afghanistan and “has been a strong supporter of the strategy of trying to divide the Afghan insurgency by offering money and jobs to those willing to accept the government in Kabul. He has said that his strategy of outreach to what he has described as “reconcilables” among the insurgents in Iraq might be applicable in Afghanistan as well.”
While the US administration muddles around the possible outcome of adding more arms to the turmoil, the Afghan government, alongwith Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is already holding talks with the Taliban. Ironically, Taliban officials blame the US government and NATO for impeding these talks and inhibiting resolution between the Taliban and Afghan government.
A former top Taliban official says Afghans blame NATO and the U.S., not Taliban insurgents, for the mounting civilian deaths. And, says, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the international forces should step aside to let the Kabul government and Afghan military negotiate a settlement to the war with the Taliban. Mullah Zaeef, who became the public face of the Taliban regime as it collapsed in late 2001, says the Afghan government wants to reach a peaceful solution to the ongoing fighting with the Taliban and other insurgents, but is not being allowed to do so as NATO and the U.S. are firmly in control of military operations. “They have no power, they have no independence to negotiate,” said the mullah, a former confidant of Taliban leader Mullah Omar. “The foreigners should let the people of Afghanistan decide. If they want to talk to the Taliban, the foreigners should not interfere.” Mullah Zaeef spent almost four years in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay after being arrested in Pakistan in January 2002. He was released at the request of the Afghan government, which is trying to work with “good Taliban” as part of a reconciliation program.
In all this hoopla, the real victims of the war continue to suffer and joke about their helplessness in the face of the events over which they have little or no control.
“Knock, knock.”
“Who is there?”
“It’s U.S. Special Forces.”
“What do you want?”
“We are looking for Mr. Moderate Taliban to talk to our leader, Mullah Obama.”
“There is no one here but us, the real Taliban; we are bearded, armed, and we don’t allow our girls to go to school or go outside.”
“It’s ok, he still wants to talk to you if you only oppress your own women and don’t attack us.”
So whats the solution? Is there a way out of this cesspool? Shazia Rafi offers a way to locate the “moderate” Taliban. Here criteria? Treatment of women. Based on the premise that the quality of a country is determined by the way it treats its women, she has offered a list of recommendations by which the Obama government can successfully locate moderates to deal with.
- Any leader whose own daughters are being educated without restriction on grade level or subjects: a moderate;
- Any leader whose mother, sisters, wife are educated without restriction on grade level or subjects: a moderate;
- Any leader who is willing to take the women and girls of his family to a male physician if he is the doctor on duty at the hospital/clinic: a moderate;
- Any leader whose female family members have paid employment or are self-employed: a moderate;
- Any leader who has killed or advocated killing of individuals or groups that disagree with his viewpoint: not eligible for moderate status.
And if you think thats not important, take a gander at what RAWA has to say here and here, or the following video
@Ahsan Khan,
You cannot really reason with the Islamophobes. When some people who happen to call themselves Muslims perform acts of terror, they brand them as “Islamic” terrorists. And they brand the entire community.
@RamK,
Terrorists are trained in training camps. Madarsas are essentially ferquented by people who want knowledge in scholastic theology, recitation of the Quran etc
@aam insaan
The West is looking for its own security and interests as are the rest of the countries.That is expected.USA is the only country that has leverage over the Pak army for the simple reason that it is bankrolling it to the tune of 80 million dollars/month.See the article
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/he+who+pays+the+piper+calls+the+tune
If 9/11 hadn’t happened the Americans were more than happy to cut a deal with the Taliban for oil pipelines.Thats realpolitik.However they now realize the threat of radical Islamists and are unlikely to continue to turn a blind eye to Pak army’s double game while they pour their billions esp in the current recession.
You wrote
“All that’s required is awareness & a genuine approach of- no sympathizers & identification from co-religionists to their brand of ideology, & they’ll perish for want of this much required oxygen”
If only things were that simple.It shows a complete lack of understanding of the threat from the extremists.Is that what happened in Punjab? Is that what KPS Gill and his team did?
What is needed is a multi pronged approach and that includes ideological challenge and refutation, educational strategy to prevent future terrorists,cut off the financial funding as well as military means to fight these terrorists.
There are still too many Muslims who support the terrorists brand of pseudo-Islamic ideology.Thankfully there is growing revulsion at their barbaric attacks and soon they will alienate even their most fervent supporters as people realize that there’s nothing “Islamic” about killing the innocent.
I do agree with views of Ahasan and RamK!
If such and such is not a muslim or a hindu or whatever,… then who is he or she?
If he/she is NOT a muslim because he/she went against Islam then why does he/she has a muslim name? If he/she is NOT a hindu because he/she went against Hindu teachings then why does he/she has a Hindu name?
When I was a kid, my parents made me to watch TAMAS, a tele-film that really was thought provoking! there were some incidents in the serial that made lot of viewers angry! During that time, there was an article in Hindu, stressing that the person who does such inhuman activities is called agent provocateur [wickipedia has more about this word and usage] and such a provocateur cannot have a religion per se! But guess what! in the provocateur’s view he/she is doing the right thing – in the name of Allah or Ram or whoever!! But he/she has a name through which we identify [unfortunately] where he/she belongs and there goes judging others….!!
So who are these people who do these inhuman activities then?? a guy/gal who is happened to have a muslim name or a guy/gal who happened to have a hindu name or ..in terms of macro level – a govt. who happens to be Christian or a govt. who happens to be jewish or a govt. who happens to be Muslim or a a govt. who happens to be HINDU! If so, who votes for them?? We!! people who happened to be muslims, hindus, Sikhs, Christians, jews or what not!! So how do you identify when things go wrong?? Same people who happened to be Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jews or what not!!
As Ahsan rightly pointed, any society has good and bad; rich and poor; sane and insane; religious and non-religious, …. but they all happened to be someone’s kid or mother or father or a husband or wife..but they all happened to belong to some religion or creed or cast or belief or whatever….
It is easy to disown these people saying what they do/did is against Islam teachings or Hinduism teachings or…. So If they don’t fit in your or my religion, then where do they fit in?
We can go gaga about preachings of Islam or Hinduism and stress to others that “we don’t preach sucidie or violence or you should read this or that or look at the verses that doesn’t tell this or that… So in our analogy, they are not muslims or hindus!!! Right!! if they are not yours or mine then who is doing it? A human happened to interpret things in a wrong way? If so, then where dose the problem lie? Is it his/her poor comprehension or interpretation of the teachings from where he/she attends regularly or from his/her associates or his/her upbringing?? where do these go and get that kind of comprehension versus yours or mine???
if temples OR madarsas are the homes for knowledge of greater good then where are these going wrong??
Advani is a Hindu [or has a hindu/sindi name] or Osama is a [arab] muslim..well, need i say more!!
Ahsan Khan
“….it is bankrolling it to the tune of 80 million dollars/month”
— Irfan Husian has beautifully summed it up – ‘He who pays the piper calls the tune’ – but I beg to differ on the context,(his lamenting is restricted to & indigenous, e.g. his musing on why the frontier corps & not the army, as if the Yankees who have doled out the billions are not aware, or just woken up to this reality after 8 long years & rewarding the Pakistani’s with the total 9billion package for their inertia ) & which is of the view that the piper is singing a different tune or not playing at all! Whereas, I perceive it directly opposite, that the piper is faithfully playing the tune as is composed & handed over to him – His Master’s Voice.
A through reading thru the inane speech given by Obama, is a give-away & the object of ridicule. It’s not the terrorists living off Pakistan, rather it’s vice versa! $10billion + $7.5billion+WB+IMF+Arms etc.etc. & at an average the NATO forces receive 70thousand truckloads of supplies & weapons per/year-since last 8yrs. The flat cost of transit from Karachi port to Kabul is $4500 per truckload!
“If 9/11 hadn’t happened the Americans were more than happy to cut a deal with the Taliban for oil pipelines.Thats realpolitik.”
— or was 9/11 an opportunity, were not the Northern alliance gaining ground against the Pak/Saudi/American aided Taliban & which would’ve jeopardized their plans of not only the pipeline but loosing the ‘Gateway to Asia’ to the Russians once again? The assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud immediately by the ISI is testimony to this fact.
“However they now realize the threat of radical Islamists and are unlikely to continue to turn a blind eye to Pak army’s double game while they pour their billions esp in the current recession.”
— The Pakistani Army is a highly sophisticated & disciplined force, the day they decide to eliminate the terrorists, the operation wouldn’t take more than 90days to effectively sanitize the whole of SWAT, this fact would obviously be well known to the Americans, so the question rises – Why on earth a 5year long plan & those $billions for a mere gun wielding 5000 assorted odd lot & an eight year hunt for a frail 80yr. old man.
You wrote
“All that’s required is awareness & a genuine approach of- no sympathizers & identification from co-religionists to their brand of ideology, & they’ll perish for want of this much required oxygen”
If only things were that simple.It shows a complete lack of understanding of the threat from the extremists.Is that what happened in Punjab? Is that what KPS Gill and his team did?”
—KPS Gill was the IGP since almost 6years but militancy was attaining new heights, bureaucrats are ineffective on their own, the day Beant Singh became CM, elected by the people out of sheer disgust towards militancy, their general will translated into political will & within a span of 4months there wasn’t a single trace of terrorism, as if it never happened,
“What is needed is a multi pronged approach and that includes ideological challenge and refutation, educational strategy to prevent future terrorists,cut off the financial funding as well as military means to fight these terrorists.”
—forgot to mention –the $4500 per truckload, includes $1000 per truck as tax to the Taliban & more – only 60% of the goods reach destination, the Taliban gives an official receipt for the one’s they confiscate.
“There are still too many Muslims who support the terrorists brand of pseudo-Islamic ideology.Thankfully there is growing revulsion at their barbaric attacks and soon they will alienate even their most fervent supporters as people realize that there’s nothing “Islamic” about killing the innocent.”
—Yes, I agree on this & the signs of disenchantment are getting more & more visible as well as vocal, atleast in our country.
Ahsan Khan
—There’s more – the american strategists, recently are of the view that one of the Taliban’s income resource is the crops e.g. pomegranate, grown by the poor farmers, so they suggest destruction of these resources –
commonsense tells me that such a misadventure is aiding & abetting to the ranks of terrorists groups, who’ll welcome such a move with open arms.
Ironically the farmers there earn a meagre INR3000 approx. per acre, irrespective of whether they grow poppy or pomegranate.
In my view disowning wrong doer is only indication of our own fears and doubts about our faith nothing more. Was Ravana disowned from Dharma by
Rama,NO. Rama supposedly worshipped at rameswaram to expiate the sin of killing brahmin(Ravana himself was a scholarly brahmin).In Gita, did Krishna disown Kauravas? No, he even offered help, his army in war with them. Good and bad have always been seen as two sides of a coin and as having same origin in Hinduism.What gives rise to good can also give rise to bad.Because good and bad are only relative terms. God is the origin for both angels and devils.They exist only in relation to each other. It is matter of perception. Disowning guj rioters does no good to Hinduism. Own them as you own any common criminal atleast, what are we afraid of? Ofcourse they never quoted any verses from hindu scriptures.But even if tomorrow some hindu does, say quotes gita to say we must fight for dharma. we better tell hindus more emphatically and more times that dharma is not in danger where it requires anybody to fight, and these horrifying ways are not the way dharma yudhha is fought.It has rules.Only Asuras fight without any rules and harm innocents, etc. Instead of withdrawing into a shell shunning debate and saying it is unhindu and why should we prove that hinduism is a peaceful religion. Apparently there is need for our own sake. In Islam, there is concept of brotherhood, how can one be thrown out suddenly because you found out he did wrong? don’t brothers have any responsibility in that situation? In fact even take qasab, the guy was deprived of even basic stuff including I bet dignity for most part of his life. Now if some one treats him well and tells the vulnerable fellow story in bollywood style how he will be a hero who crossed ocean and daringly fought for whatever. won’t it be too tempting? How much will power it takes for a starved me to just sit and watch food and not eat. He lacked will power, he made wrong choices. that is what kauravas and ravana were. Disowning them won’t make bad go away. it will keep appearing until we face it and finish it.He , I am sure knows right from wrong. He simply believes what he did was justified in a way by the acts of others. desire for revenge(Ravana,guj riots, quasabs ) is storng it can kill one’s ability to discriminate between good and bad. If
one has passion for something that same passion, that could have been a positive force in most at most times can make one lusty and also create strong desire for revenge if the object of passion is denied. Religions will help a lot if they can make people aware of how the mind works. How to be alert to one’s thoughts and correct course if it is going wrong way(illogical or pseudo logic).
Shivaji was a great person no doubt, revered by millions of Hindus. But look at the current day followers, no lets call them goons, MNS, Shivsena etc. What do we say about them? That without understanding Shivaji’s struggle, are just distorting his image. They call themselves ShivSainiks but are not, etc. etc.
Now Shivaji was inherently a fighter. Imagine if Shivaji had created a new religion then wouldn’t it be easy to predict what the followers would do? Can we ever expect them to be non violent, peaceful?
Am I thinking right or completely out of my mind?
@aam insan
“The Pakistani Army is a highly sophisticated & disciplined force, the day they decide to eliminate the terrorists, the operation wouldn’t take more than 90days to effectively sanitize the whole of SWAT, this fact would obviously be well known to the Americans, so the question rises – Why on earth a 5year long plan & those $billions for a mere gun wielding 5000 assorted odd lot & an eight year hunt for a frail 80yr. old man.”
This is bizarre.That the Pak army which sees India as the enemy does not have the will or the stomach to fight their own countrymen is obvious. But to suggest that America is somehow complicit in needlessly prolonging the war and wants to generously build up the Pak army and even the Taliban is beyond ridiculous.I don’t know what point you are trying to make but looks like you are trying to look for some deeper conspiracy which may not be there.
@Ahsan Khan
Sound interesting when the taliaban attack at the heart of the lahore and proclaims a part of the country with their own laws and still if you want to believe that the pakistan army is “highly sophisticated & disciplined force”
India has got nothing to loose on the thought process, if pakistan does not have any issue about the same with different laws and rulers for different part of the country.
RamK wrote ..”In my view disowning wrong doer is only indication of our own fears and doubts about our faith nothing more..” Yep, I do agree with you 100%.
We have bad apples in every religion and if one thinks they are giving a bad name then first work on such elements and make them or their cohorts accountable rather than being insecure about our own faith and disowning them with statements such as “they are not muslims, or hindus, etc.”! Even in a family, we have issues, so if things go wrong do we disown them as if it is not our concern??
It’s time to call a spade a spade [as Ahsan said] and educate them in a right way! Instead of giving bad examples and make these misguided folks into monsters ALSO teach them about the good elements of other religions as well! Teaching hatred and twisting teachings of religion to one’s advantage and making less tolerant to others beliefs/religions have become common!!
There is a very thought provoking tele-film [BRITZ] aired by NPR in late December, make sure watch it!
http://www.press.bbcamerica.com/press/programdetails.jsp?program_id=70
“But to suggest that America is somehow complicit in needlessly prolonging the war and wants to generously build up the Pak army and even the Taliban is beyond ridiculous”
Just look at the military industrial complex and its network of contractors, subcontractors, their controls on Wall Street, the media and politicians.
War is big business.
http://z.hubpages.com/u/31082_f520.jpg
Ahsan Khan
“This is bizarre. That the Pak army which sees India as the enemy does not have the will or the stomach to fight their own countrymen is obvious. But to suggest that America is somehow complicit in needlessly prolonging the war and wants to generously build up the Pak army and even the Taliban is beyond ridiculous. I don’t know what point you are trying to make but looks like you are trying to look for some deeper conspiracy which may not be there.”
—Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion! It amazes me no end that specifically the Indian liberal’s consider the American’s ought to be so, whereas all the ground realities shriek otherwise & a dispassionate & non-partisan evaluation of the overall situation leaves a lot to be desired.
The moot question is –What’s their goal in Afghanistan? Let’s try to make sense of Obama’s recent specch, what is their purpose & course of action.
Excerpts from Obama’s speech-
“What is our purpose in Afghanistan? After so many years, they ask, why do our men and women still fight and die there? And they deserve a straightforward answer.”
“So I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future. That’s the goal that must be achieved. That is a cause that could not be more just.
And to the terrorists who oppose us, my message is the same: We will defeat you.”
Ohhh! Osama darr gaya, lol. All that I’ve heard is American rheotrics & jingoism at it’s peak after 9/11 – all bark but no bite. Also to be noted is that recently the Taliban is not being refered as an enemy, but only – “There is an uncompromising core of the Taliban.”
—Now, to contention in favour of the American’s, first let me be clear, their presence & war with the Taliban & Al-Queda, is a double-edged sword, as far as India’s concerned, it has it’s pros but it also has it’s cons. That however not being the subject, we proceed –
-Why was Osama when inspite of being cornered in Tora Bora in 2001, allowed to comfortably walkover to Pakistan with the Pentagon refusing & turning down permission to it’s officer Brig. Gen. James N. Mattis, to proceed to the Tora Bora caves & to let him cut-off the only escape route to the most sensitive portions of the largely unpatrolled border with Pakistan.
-How much does it takes to ‘defeat’ the terrorist’s who are concentrated in the SWAT valley hilly region, which is 5000sq.km approx., landlocked in Pakistan, to cut-off them & defeat a meager number of 10-12 thousand insurgents by the US airforces alongwith the Pak Army whose air-power consists of 300 f-16’s & a military strength of 6-7 lakh soldiers. The rebuilding & CBM’s can start after sanitizing the area.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/world/asia/26tribal.html?_r=4&ref=world
–“The Taliban’s widening campaign in southern Afghanistan is made possible in part by direct support from operatives in Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, despite Pakistani government promises to sever ties to militant groups fighting in Afghanistan, according to American government officials.
The support consists of money, military supplies and strategic planning guidance to Taliban commanders who are gearing up to confront the international force in Afghanistan that will soon include some 17,000 American reinforcements.”
—What to make of this & from what Obama says—“I’ve already ordered the deployment of 17,000 troops…These soldiers and Marines will take the fight to the Taliban in the south and the east,- To help Pakistan weather the economic crisis, we must continue to work with the IMF, the World Bank and other international partners.But the American people must understand that this is a down payment on our own future, ($9billion) because the security of America and Pakistan is shared.” (sounds like some war-game to me)
Above all, will either the NATO or Pakistan run the risk of either capturing & hanging or killing Osama & make him a martyr?
Osama or no Osama, the American’s are here in this region to stay for good as the Russian’s rightly point out – not to overlook their hidden agenda includes Iran & try to counter-balance the Russian influence in central Asia.
I maybe utterly ridiculous in my assessments but I thing I’m sure that the interest of the Afghan populace & the Talibization of the society is least of their concern.
Your other contention- “But to suggest that America is somehow complicit in needlessly prolonging the war and wants to generously build up the Pak army…”
Senator Obama –“ Pak using US funds for preparing for war against India: Obama”
President Obama – “So today I’m calling upon Congress to pass a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by John Kerry and Richard Lugar that authorizes $1.5 billion in direct support to the Pakistan…over the next five years”
Searching for moderate Taliban is like searching for harmless poison.
But to believe US is for interest of others is also an ostrich headed approach.
And its better not to believe than to believe Indians will become wise and stop bickering.
Today america has got only arms as the superior product to sell to the world. For the same they will have to ensure that there are enough problems.
In fact i would say the continuation of the tension between pak and india is more by the west as they can use this as an opportunity to sell their outdaed stocks to these two countries.
War is big business. For example take bofor anybody involved is not there whether it is olf palme or rajiv gandhi. The truth of the kick back has never come out even when bjp came to power.
aam insan
“All that I’ve heard is American rheotrics & jingoism at it’s peak after 9/11 – all bark but no bite. ”
A lot of people would beg to differ with you esp those hit by drone attacks. I wonder what count as a “bite” for you.Of course US has the firepower to carpet bomb or even nuke the entire area and eliminate the entire Afghan population but we are not in the times of Genghis Khan.
Obama’s policy is of a holistic approach and shows his maturity by giving development aid to build schools which in the long run is cheaper than dropping bombs.Its not a rag tag bunch you are dealing with.These are fanatical battle hardened guerrilla fighters/suicide bombers and fighting them is a different ball game together.
The only point I agree with
“1 thing I’m sure that the interest of the Afghan populace & the Talibization of the society is least of their concern.” They are only interested in their long term security/interests and one would be foolish to think otherwise.But the rest of your assessment is far fetched in my opinion.
Hi,
America is not interested in the victory of any nation. It is just pushing the aspirant who wants to join their club with regard to development. These wars will increase the jobs, get away with old arms, create funds for developing more arms. See iraq, iran, kuwait, afghan and now it is pakistan.
If you want conspiracy theory, it is designed by the rich and intelligent jews. read pakalert.wordpress.com. It will tell you the venon it spews on everybody other than muslim.
There is no mistake on onthe part of pakistan. It is jews, chrisitian and hindus were the reasons.
@Ahsan Khan
Barking dog has learnt to bite remote. America is spending all its resource in developing manless drones operated remote with the intelligence of the satellite and the camera fixed.
If that is lost nothing is lost and they are increasing the product to reduce the cost.
Precisely that is what is deployed in Pakistan. they will be deploying this everywhere and no more humans
Ahsan Khan
“A lot of people would beg to differ with you esp those hit by drone attacks.”
“But the rest of your assessment is far fetched in my opinion”
—Your ‘opinion’ seems to suggest that you live on a different planet – If the drones can get you the ‘desired’ results then why all this hullabaloo? – get your ‘bite’ of an ‘Osama’ & leave, the Taliban didn’t attack US, nor was it a party to 9/11, does your ‘mature holistic approach’ need the presence of your armed forces, who as it is, live in perpetual fear in heavily guarded garrisons, totally oblivious of the plight & hardships of the locals. (Incidentally India is the largest contributor to the cause of social upliftment & infrastructure in Afghanistan, & your Obama is extending this courtesy not to the Afghans but to Pakistan, who are the care-takers & handlers of all terrorist org., read it in his own words once again, all this for the ‘holistic approach’ sic.). Nuke Afghanistan? For what? The terrorists are in Pakistan, the enemy is the Punjabi Taliban, the official recruitment agency for global terrorism is the ISI, even the Afghan Taliban is their own illegitimate child, a product of PAK_USA fusion & so is the Al-Queda, which is sheltered by ISI, with all means they are most welcome to ‘carpet bomb’ ‘nuke’ ‘puke’ Pakistan, but why Afghanistan! Then Russia can go-ahead & nuke Georgia, Israel can nuke Iran, Palestine etc….& since you live on a faraway planet you need not worry, but please do keep your opinions to yourself & have have mercy on we ‘earthlings’.
“These are fanatical battle hardened guerrilla fighters/suicide bombers and fighting them is a different ball game together.”
—If the Indian Armed forces can eliminate & sanitize the treacherous terrains of Kargil within three months from an invasion by highly trained, heavily armed, perched on vantage points & motivated Pak army, then why can’t the same be emulated in the SWAT by the Pakistani or NATO forces, I bet these ‘fanatical battle hardened guerrilla fighters/suicide bombers’ rats won’t find a hole to hide. Do they will to put an end to this nuisance? or are they more interested in announcing packages for gullible suckers?
As Salamu Aliekum….
My Dear Brothers and Sisters:
I respect all your views and suggestion and i even believe there is no such thing as moderate Taliban….
I have Few Questions,
What is Taliban?
When and Why it was Found?
What was the Motive Behind Talibani Movement?
Why are they doing all this?
Why are they spoiling the name of my Religion, which it self mean Peace? What should a Poor Afghani and People from SWAT valley should do get away from them?
Who give them all the weapons?
All the AK47, Rocket Launcher and Other Arms and Ammunition, What is there Made? American, Swedish, Chinese or Israeli or the Talibanis have there own Factories or any Islamic Nation provide them?
Afghanistan is still one of the most poorest country in the world even after 8 years and about Pakistan we all aware. The Americans, Britishers and the NATO Forces are Fighting them for a long but no results, In Fact they have spread to the every corner of Pakistan…
People in the SWAT Valley, earn 1 Dollar per month and they have AK47 and the weaponry with them. The people who call it Religious problem fail to understand, “On Empty Stomach Even Religion Doesn’t Work”, it’s social problem, we can only solve it by Peace and Social Message…
Give them Food, Clothing, Shelter, Education(I know the have stop Girls from going school, however the Administration should try again and again), Security, Employment and so on, all these acts will come down gradually. In my view talking to Talibanis can be a very good step, but whom should they talk, the one who signed the pact with Pakistan(we know what has happen after that). Only the Americans and Pakistanis can solve this Cyclone as they themselves have created all the space for these Talibanis…And i thing India don’t need to enter in any kind of negotiations with Talibanis, it might back fire. It will be good for India to have only Strategic Relation with the USA and no Military Relations, they are opportunistic, will leave when it will be out of there hand and our Sub-Continent will burn and the future will be dangerous…
Oh, Allah(swt) please save our world and give us strength and power to fight it out, Please give us Peace and happiness… Aameen…
Wassalam…
As Salamu Aliekum…
Brother Ahsan Khan:
You speak against the extremist in Islam, which is good, but I’m afraid you only do that and nothing else…
I have urge you even before don’t use words like Islamists, to label few black sheep’s in our community, all these give them more courage and power and it even helps them to bring more and more young Muslims into there organisation in the name of Islam…
You reply to Milind
“”"Look I understand where you are coming from because I felt the same for many years.But that is just running away from reality. For instance I will quote to you another Hadith
Narrated by ‘Sufwaa bin Saleem’
‘The Prophet (pbuh) was asked: “Can a believer be a coward?”
He said “Yes.”
He was asked again: “Can a believer be a miser?”
He said “Yes.”
He was asked again: “Can a believer be a liar?”
The Prophet (pbuh) replied: “No.”‘
(Bukhaari o Muslim)
How many Muslims do you think are there on this earth, Milind?”"”
How dare you ask this question, you being a Muslim. You, me or anyone else is no one to decide who is a Believer and who is not, it is Allah(swt) who will label us as Believer or a Non-Believer based on our deeds. The Hadit above, warms Muslims to beware and restrict ourselves from doing wrong or speaking lie and it doesn’t give us the right to figure out believer or a non-believer…
Please bro, i urge to again, don’t use those words and ask those question which are logical and true…
Wassalam…