[Austin-ghetto-list] Fwd: On Afghanistan...
Karen Willis
kewillis@swbell.net
Mon, 17 Sep 2001 19:19:20 -0500
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This was received from a cat-related list, but I think you all will be
interested in the Afghani viewpoint.
Karen
>>>Subject: A view from Afghanistan
>>>
>>>The following was sent to me by my friend Tamim
>>>Ansary. Tamim is an Afghani-American writer. He is
>>>also one of the most brilliant people I know in this
>>>life. When he writes, I read. When he talks, I
>>>listen. Here is his take on Afghanistan and the whole
>>>mess we are in.
>>>
>>>
>>>xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>
>>>I've been hearing a lot of talk about "bombing
>>>Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO
>>>Talk Radio today, allowed that this would mean killing
>>>innocent people, people who had nothing to do with
>>>this atrocity, but "we're at war, we have to accept
>>>collateral damage. What else can we do?" Minutes later
>>>I heard some TV pundit discussing whether we "have the
>>>belly to do what must be done."
>>>
>>>And I thought about the issues being raised especially
>>>hard because I am from Afghanistan, and even though
>>>I've lived here (the US) for 35 years I've
>>>never lost track of what's going on there. So I want
>>>to tell anyone who will listen how it all looks from
>>>where I'm standing.
>>>
>>>I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin
>>>Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that these people
>>>were responsible for the atrocity in New York. I agree
>>>that something must be done about those monsters.
>>>
>>>But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan.
>>>They're not even the government of Afghanistan. The
>>>Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who took
>>>over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political
>>>criminal with a plan. When you think Taliban, think
>>>Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And
>>>when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the
>>>Jews in the concentration camps." It's not only that
>>>the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity.
>>>They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They
>>>would exult if someone would come in there, take out
>>>the Taliban and clear out the rats nest of international
>>>thugs holed up in their country.
>>>
>>>Some say, why don't the Afghans rise up and overthrow
>>>the Taliban? The answer is, they're starved,
>>>exhausted, hurt, incapacitated, suffering. A few years
>>>ago, the United Nations estimated that there are
>>>500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan--a country
>>>with no economy, no food. There are millions of
>>>widows. And the Taliban has been burying these
>>>widows alive in mass graves. The soil is littered
>>>with land mines, the farms were all destroyed by the
>>>Soviets. These are a few of the reasons why the
>>>Afghan people have not overthrown the Taliban.
>>>
>>>We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan
>>>back to the Stone Age. Trouble is, that's been done.
>>>The Soviets took care of it already. Make the Afghans
>>>suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses?
>>>Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done.
>>>Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their
>>>infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and health
>>>care? Too late. Someone already did all that. New
>>>bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs.
>>>Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. In
>>>today's Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they
>>>have the means to move around. They'd slip away and
>>>hide. Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled
>>>orphans, they don't move too fast, they don't even
>>>have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping
>>>bombs wouldn't really be a strike against the
>>>criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it
>>>would only be making common cause with the Taliban--by
>>>raping once again the people they've been raping all
>>>this time.
>>>
>>>So what else is there? What can be done, then? Let me
>>>now speak with true fear and trembling. The only way
>>>to get Bin Laden is to go in there with ground troops.
>>>When people speak of "having the belly to do what
>>>needs to be done" they're thinking in terms of having
>>>the belly to kill as many as needed. Having the belly
>>>to overcome any moral qualms about killing innocent
>>>people. Let's pull our heads out of the sand. What's
>>>actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just
>>>because some Americans would die fighting their way
>>>through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. It's much
>>>bigger than that folks. Because to get any
>>>troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through
>>>Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest
>>>of Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim
>>>nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. We're
>>>flirting with a world war between Islam and the West.
>>>
>>>And guess what: that's Bin Laden's program. That's
>>>exactly what he wants. That's why he did this. Read
>>>his speeches and statements. It's all right there. He
>>>really believes Islam would beat the west. It might
>>>seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the
>>>world into Islam and the West, he's got a billion
>>>soldiers. If the west wreaks a holocaust in those
>>>lands, that's a billion people with nothing left to
>>>lose, that's even better from Bin Laden's point of
>>>view. He's probably wrong, in the end the west would
>>>win, whatever that would mean, but the war would last
>>>for years and millions would die, not just theirs but
>>>ours. Who has the belly for that? Bin Laden does.
>>>Anyone else?
>>>
>>>Tamim Ansary
>>>C. Clark
>>>
>>>Jiyushinkai Aikibudo
>>>www.jiyushinkai.org
>>>
>>> "The fundamental delusion of mankind is
>>> that I am here and you are out there."
>>> - Yasutani Roshi
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<font size=3>This was received from a cat-related list, but I think you
all will be interested in the Afghani viewpoint.<br>
Karen<br>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite cite><blockquote type=cite cite><blockquote type=cite cite>Subject:
A view from Afghanistan<br>
<br>
The following was sent to me by my friend Tamim<br>
Ansary. Tamim is an Afghani-American writer. He is<br>
also one of the most brilliant people I know in this<br>
life. When he writes, I read. When he talks, I<br>
listen. Here is his take on Afghanistan and the whole<br>
mess we are in.<br>
<br>
<br>
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx<br>
<br>
I've been hearing a lot of talk about "bombing<br>
Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO<br>
Talk Radio today, allowed that this would mean killing<br>
innocent people, people who had nothing to do with<br>
this atrocity, but "we're at war, we have to accept<br>
collateral damage. What else can we do?" Minutes later<br>
I heard some TV pundit discussing whether we "have the<br>
belly to do what must be done."<br>
<br>
And I thought about the issues being raised especially<br>
hard because I am from Afghanistan, and even though<br>
I've lived here (the US) for 35 years I've<br>
never lost track of what's going on there. So I want<br>
to tell anyone who will listen how it all looks from<br>
where I'm standing.<br>
<br>
I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin<br>
Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that these people<br>
were responsible for the atrocity in New York. I agree<br>
that something must be done about those monsters.<br>
<br>
But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan.<br>
They're not even the government of Afghanistan. The<br>
Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who took<br>
over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political<br>
criminal with a plan. When you think Taliban, think<br>
Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And<br>
when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think
"the<br>
Jews in the concentration camps." It's not only that<br>
the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity.<br>
They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They<br>
would exult if someone would come in there, take out<br>
the Taliban and clear out the rats nest of international<br>
thugs holed up in their country.<br>
<br>
Some say, why don't the Afghans rise up and overthrow<br>
the Taliban? The answer is, they're starved,<br>
exhausted, hurt, incapacitated, suffering. A few years<br>
ago, the United Nations estimated that there are<br>
500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan--a country<br>
with no economy, no food. There are millions of<br>
widows. And the Taliban has been burying these<br>
widows alive in mass graves. The soil is littered<br>
with land mines, the farms were all destroyed by the<br>
Soviets. These are a few of the reasons why the<br>
Afghan people have not overthrown the Taliban.<br>
<br>
We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan<br>
back to the Stone Age. Trouble is, that's been done.<br>
The Soviets took care of it already. Make the Afghans<br>
suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses?<br>
Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done.<br>
Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their<br>
infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and health<br>
care? Too late. Someone already did all that. New<br>
bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs.<br>
Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. In<br>
today's Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they<br>
have the means to move around. They'd slip away and<br>
hide. Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled<br>
orphans, they don't move too fast, they don't even<br>
have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping<br>
bombs wouldn't really be a strike against the<br>
criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it<br>
would only be making common cause with the Taliban--by<br>
raping once again the people they've been raping all<br>
this time.<br>
<br>
So what else is there? What can be done, then? Let me<br>
now speak with true fear and trembling. The only way<br>
to get Bin Laden is to go in there with ground troops.<br>
When people speak of "having the belly to do what<br>
needs to be done" they're thinking in terms of having<br>
the belly to kill as many as needed. Having the belly<br>
to overcome any moral qualms about killing innocent<br>
people. Let's pull our heads out of the sand. What's<br>
actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just<br>
because some Americans would die fighting their way<br>
through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. It's much<br>
bigger than that folks. Because to get any<br>
troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through<br>
Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest<br>
of Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim<br>
nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. We're<br>
flirting with a world war between Islam and the West.<br>
<br>
And guess what: that's Bin Laden's program. That's<br>
exactly what he wants. That's why he did this. Read<br>
his speeches and statements. It's all right there. He<br>
really believes Islam would beat the west. It might<br>
seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the<br>
world into Islam and the West, he's got a billion<br>
soldiers. If the west wreaks a holocaust in those<br>
lands, that's a billion people with nothing left to<br>
lose, that's even better from Bin Laden's point of<br>
view. He's probably wrong, in the end the west would<br>
win, whatever that would mean, but the war would last<br>
for years and millions would die, not just theirs but<br>
ours. Who has the belly for that? Bin Laden does.<br>
Anyone else?<br>
<br>
Tamim Ansary<br>
C. Clark<br>
<br>
Jiyushinkai Aikibudo<br>
<a href="http://www.jiyushinkai.org/" eudora="autourl">www.jiyushinkai.org</a><br>
<br>
"The fundamental
delusion of mankind is<br>
that I am here and
you are out there."<br>
- Yasutani Roshi</blockquote></font></blockquote></blockquote></html>
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